[UPDATED] Perikatan puts Mas Ermieyati up for Melaka CM post

KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional (PN) has named Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming polls in Melaka.

Its president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who announced her candidacy during a press conference today at the coalition’s headquarters in Publika here, said the decision was made by both PN and Bersatu.

“This is the first time a woman with high qualifications, and who is young and experienced, is being offered as a candidate for chief minister (in Melaka),” he said.

Muhyiddin said the 45-year-old Mas Ermieyati – who is running for the Tg Bidara seat – was born on November 13, 1976, and hails from Kg Paya Lebar in Masjid Tanah, Melaka.

He said the chief minister candidate is a mother of five, and had studied in Methodist Girls’ School, SK Ramuan China Besar in Majid Tanah, and Sekolah Tun Fatimah in Johor Baru.

The former prime minister said Mas Ermieyati graduated with a law degree from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 2000, and received her Master of Business Administration from Asia e University in 2019.

“In terms of her experience, she has been a defence lawyer and solicitor with her own firm, and as a shariah lawyer at the Melaka shariah court, and now she is the Masjid Tanah MP,” Muhyiddin said.

Muhyiddin noted that Mas Ermieyati was previously deputy tourism and culture minister, deputy entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister, and is currently deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law).

“In terms of political leadership, she is a member of Bersatu’s supreme council, deputy chief of Bersatu’s women’s wing, and Masjid Tanah division chief,” he said.

“This proves that PN will always give opportunities to anyone regardless of their gender, whether a man or woman, to hold important posts.”

Asked whether Mas Ermieyati will need to step down from her current deputy ministerial post to become chief minister, should PN win, Muhyiddin said she will have to do so by convention.

On comments by political observers over PN’s minimal chances of winning the polls on November 20, Muhyiddin said they should not underestimate the coalition’s influence.

“They can place us as the underdog that people do not know. We can look at the Sabah election when PN was only formed three weeks before, and now we have formed a government there for more than a year with proven abilities.

“They (critics) want to forget that record, but we did not lose there (in Sabah)...so do not underestimate the wisdom of the voters in Melaka.”

Meanwhile, Mas Ermieyati said it is an honour to be selected as the first ever female candidate for the post.

“This is not only for me, but for the women of the nation, it represents the appreciation to all women in the country. So, I feel that this is time we stand shoulder to shoulder to show that nothing is impossible for women.” – The Vibes, November 18, 2021