GEORGE TOWN – Wanita DAP has pledged its support for PKR’s Indera Kayangan assemblyman Gan Ay Ling who is the sole Pakatan Harapan (PH) representative in the 15-member state legislative assembly in Perlis.
Its chairman Chong Eng, a veteran women activist, said DAP is worried that Gan may be “bullied” in Perlis because she is the sole opposition member, a female, and the only elected representative of Chinese origin.
“There is nothing sinister here. We are just worried about whether Gan can find the necessary support. Perikatan Nasional (PN) won Perlis on the back of a controversial and aggressive campaign to woo the Malay sentiments. In the past, politicians shunned such aggressive stances but now, there is without a doubt a rise of right-leaning politics.”
According to Chong, some parties had focused on far-right Malay policies to drum up support in the last election, so they likely would not be amenable to having Gan in the assembly, who in their minds, represents liberalism and moderation.
Among the support offered is to help Gan locate the right resources for conducting research on issues and to help her boost her service centre with more staffers.
Women’s rights groups are also encouraged to attend the assembly proceedings to ensure that Gan has support when she debates issues.
Chong recalled how she was the sole opposition backbencher in the 1995 state legislative term in Penang when DAP lost all of their state seats.
However, the composition in the House then, was multi-racial and there was no aggressive politics, particularly in Penang, which appreciates its diversity, she said in an interview.
Chong also pointed out that Gan, who has family in Penang, is not a local resident in the country’s smallest state and was asked to contest at her party’s behest.
Chong said that PH has much work to do to convince fence-sitters that the best way forward is moderation and high tolerance, as the country is built on diversity.
PN, namely through PAS swept through Perlis, winning all three Parliament and 14 state seats with Gan as an exception in Indera Kayangan.
In Kedah, PAS also swept 13 out of the 15 Parliament seats with Sg Petani and Padang Serai as exceptions.
The election for Padang Serai is now underway as it was postponed to December 7 following the death of one of its candidates and incumbent M. Karupaiya from PH.
Gan retained her Indera Kayangan state seat with a majority of 1,863 votes.
She won against PN’s Ramoot Puan who garnered 2,957 votes, BN’s Lim Weng Khee (1,882) and Parti Warisan Sabah’s Atan Jasin (736).
In a separate interview, Gan acknowledged that she would find it tough in the assembly, but will continue to fight on, as she believes that politics is a long struggle.
“I will bring up my constituency issue and focus on development since bread-and-butter issues affect everyone regardless of their race or religion,” said Gan.
Gan admits that it is tough as her family stays in Penang, so there is some commuting involved, but she did it last term, so it should not be an issue. – The Vibes, November 27, 2022
