JUNE 6 — It’s disturbing to know that a hardworking, talented and dedicated woman politician has chosen to end her political career at a young age.
Marina Ibrahim, 38, who was DAP assemblywoman for the Chinese-majority Skudai constituency, publicly announced on May 31 her decision ahead of the Johor state election. She will not defend her Skudai seat.
From one perspective, this could be read as a substantial loss to Malaysian women’s political participation in an ecosystem where male politicians already outnumber their female counterparts.
Her abrupt resignation from DAP reportedly came about after Johor DAP chief Teo Nie Ching stated that the party planned to move Marina to a Malay-majority constituency, possibly Tiram, because Marina was deemed DAP’s “winnable candidate” for the state seat.
This was supposedly part of the party’s design to expand its influence in Malay-majority areas in the state.
But such party confidence in Marina’s success in Tiram rang hollow when Teo disclosed a so-called back-up plan to offer the former a chairperson position in a statutory body — if she failed to capture Tiram.
Such a planned electoral incursion into Umno stronghold Tiram may prove very risky, especially if there was no adequate preparation for it.
Marina’s service centre head Ong Huai Yi questioned whether the party had built a local team and strengthened its grassroots presence there if DAP really wanted her to contest.
If it’s true that no sufficient preparation had been made, then shifting Marina to Tiram would be tantamount to sending her into a lion’s den.
Maintaining Malay politicians, such as Marina, would help strengthen to some degree DAP’s public image as a party that strives to be multiethnic and inclusive.
Obviously, the existing Malay party members cannot be perceived, let alone treated, as mere tokenism, especially in the context of the wider society where DAP is viewed with suspicion or anger (read: “salah DAP” [DAP’s fault]) among certain segments of the Malay community.
As already pointed out by civil society groups and political observers, what should also be of deep concern is the practice — as revealed by Teo in a matter-of-fact manner — of offering political appointments in government-linked companies (GLCs) and statutory bodies.
It is vital to also raise this issue because such patronage politics used to be vehemently opposed by DAP, which was said to stand for meritocracy, transparency and accountability.
The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) recently revealed that as of last year, there were 238 political appointments to the boards of federal GLCs and statutory bodies.
While such appointments have indeed become commonplace, they clearly should not have been normalised and should not serve as consolation prizes for failures. It does a disservice to capable politicians such as Marina.
All the best to Marina in her “retirement” journey towards serving the common people, particularly the marginalised and the needy.
Lest we forget, it’s also the kind of role elected politicians are expected to play with dedication.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
