KUALA LUMPUR – Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shahruddin’s induction as a member of Bersatu in April 2020 fulfilled her lifelong dream of pursuing a career in active politics.
As fate would have it, however, her stint in the party came to an abrupt end after her membership with the party’s Segambut division was revoked just a day later.
No solid reason was purportedly given to her, beyond a message by a party division member that it had to do with Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, the single mother of two popularly known as Cleopatra told The Vibes.
While she did not elaborate on the matter, Nur Fathiah is rumoured to have previously shared a close relationship with the former Bersatu Youth chief.
In an Instagram post on April 11, 2020, she confirmed being close with Syed Saddiq since the pair met in October the previous year, but said their conversations usually only revolve around politics and the future of Malaysia.
In the same post, Nur Fathiah had also said her “fundamental” is Bersatu, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is her idol, and that the only reason she was with the party was because of the elder statesman.
These events took place in the aftermath of the Sheraton Move, which saw Bersatu defect from Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form a new government with Umno and PAS.
Mahathir, Syed Saddiq and several others who objected to the move and chose to remain in PH were later sacked from the party in May that year.
As for Nur Fathiah, her dismissal from Bersatu has not dampened her spirit.
Now unaffiliated with any political party, the sole breadwinner of her family of seven intends to become an MP on an independent ticket, as she makes her election debut in the Batu constituency.
“I have decided to dedicate this time of my life and am committed to becoming a career politician, and my motivation is to serve my constituents,” she said.
Without the burden and weight of party expectations and rules on her shoulders, Nur Fathiah believes this allows her the liberty and privilege to speak up on what she truly believes in and be more realistic about what she can achieve.
‘Reset Batu’
Originally hailing from Georgetown, Penang, Nur Fathiah now calls Kuala Lumpur her home, and bases her office in the Batu constituency. She is the director of Nova Defence Sdn Bhd and Raffles Force (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, headquartered in Sentul.
Her daily commute to work has allowed her to notice some of the areas that need improvements in the constituency.
“I want to see Batu be a model town, well-equipped with the best and modern artificial intelligence technologies, and I will work hard to improve the living conditions and make Batu a mini Kuala Lumpur.”
Campaigning under the slogan “Reset Batu”, Fathiah said among her goals for the constituency include resetting the mode of communication between the MP and constituents, where the latter are better able to voice their concerns so that prompt action can be taken.
“I would also want to ensure that the well-being of constituents is being taken care of, suitable to their needs and requirements.”
Her immediate plans, she said, include attending to community and local traders’ issues, increasing connectivity of feeder buses into remote areas, and addressing parking and congestion issues.
Once this is done, she said, she can then turn her attention to improving economic activities in Batu.
Nur Fathiah said her larger aspiration of seeing a better Malaysia was also why she decided to join politics in the first place.
She shared that issues concerning the plight of single mothers like herself, as well as of education have always been close to her heart.
Despite being an independent facing nine other candidates in Batu, Nur Fathiah said she is unperturbed and insisted she is not there just to make up the numbers.
To her, all ten election hopefuls there have an equal chance of winning, adding that while P. Prabakaran may have the advantage of incumbency, it will not be smooth sailing for him as he will be judged by his performance. – The Vibes, November 15, 2022
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