It is indeed a rare honor to be featured on the third page of The Star (h e r e), and republished in my blog h e r e. But I was rather disappointed that much of what I had said – particularly regarding the issues of the future direction of the country, and the efforts of many Malaysians -including mine- to strengthen Malaysia’s multicultural strand -had been left out.
So do allow me to share the highlights from my speech during the dialogue with Bangsarians on Mommy’s Day last Sunday night.
“Breastfeeding is important to me, but equally so are my constituents and the struggle for change”, by mommy cum politician, Izzah:
Pertama sekali, saya berasa bersyukur kerana walau banyak rintangan yang terpaksa dihadapi oleh teman-teman seangkatan akhir akhir ini, terutamanya dalam menyuarakan isu-isu berkait rakyat dan memperjuangkan hak individu, ada juga terselit berita gembira tentang pembebasan beberapa teman lain.
Kita mungkin tidak bersetuju dengan pendapat ataupun pandangan sesetengah pihak tetapi bila kita melihat kepada suasana hari ini, kita sedari akan kewujudan kasih sayang dalam keluarga yang menjadikan kita prihatin akan nasib mereka yang terpisah daripada anak-anak angkara Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri ataupun ISA.
Sebagaimana yang kita semua tahu, wujud banyak akta-akta serta undang-undang yang membolehkan mana-mana individu ditangkap ataupun ditahan sepertimana yang berlaku baru-baru ini di hadapan Ibu Pejabat Kontinjen Brickfields. Tangkapan yang dibuat tidak bermaksud ianya tangkapan yang adil, tetapi menunjukkan bahawa kita punyai undang-undang yang cukup kuat untuk menangkap orang biasa/ samada pemegang lilin ataupun peguam bertauliah–yang sepatutnya digunakan untuk menangkap penjenayah.
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Indeed, with all that’s happening, I feel lucky to be amongst all of you here tonight. I would also like to extend a special thank you to the organizers –Bangsar Baru Business Council. It is because of you that I am here, representing Bangsarians and the larger community in Lembah Pantai as your member in parliament. So when they ask me how would you like to spend your Mother’s Day this year, I said, I’ll be spending it with good company in Bangsar Sports Complex!
I have learned so much from all of you in this one year. I believe our democracy is treading on a similar trajectory. Though recent events, such as the travesty of justice in Perak have brought concern to many, I remain hopeful that these experiences will only help strengthen our multicultural strand and unite Malaysians, from all creed, color and religion together even stronger than before. Because we all want change for the better, and the people clamor for accountability and transparency from its elected officials. Not only that, we want accountability from the local councils as well.
On a more local basis, we are dealing with severe shortages of consistent quality service –whether it is the issue of licensing, enforcement, or beautification.
To this end, I am thankful for the feedback provided, even to the issue of crow droppings along Jalan Telawi. Additionally, this issue tied up with the horrid problem of parking due to limited spaces along Jalan Maarof (lax enforcement) –helped me strengthen the case of holding local council elections once again –in parliament. Like it or not, all legislators in the August House must be made aware of these difficulties faced by the ordinary Bangsarian, as I can assure you, Delicious (the restaurant) is frequented by my count, at least more than 50 MPs every month –from all political stripes, mind you! So they don’t just get to frequent the places, they must understand the challenges faced in these premises.
And when we face illegal jockeys, again, the issue of enforcement comes up. We cannot escape DBKL in every turn we make. That is why, it is so crucial to allow for direct accountability on every officer by ensuring we are allowed to vote for our very own Mayor. You don’t like the Mayor, you kick him out. Just as you can kick out an MP.
The entire exercise of voting for local councilors must again be brought to life. This vision, agreed on by all Pakatan Rakyat candidates standing in the last GE in Kuala Lumpur provides a way in which we can better improve DBKL services for KLites.
This need I have raised in parliament, and even if the media fails to pick it up, it wasn’t as juicy as the use of expletives that day – it is registered in the relevant ministries, and exerts pressure on DBKL to improve. Rubbish will now be picked up twice a day, instead of once daily in Bangsar Baru.
The issue of Crime
The incidents of crime faced by all of us are faced indiscriminately. It doesn’t matter if you are young, old , if you are a man, or a pregnant woman with four children. It doesn’t even matter from what social background you come from. Attacks happen to anyone. Even to an ADUN, as experienced by Hannah Yeoh recently.
All cases of crime have been the highlight in parliamentary sittings. And to be fair, the issue of increasing crime rate has been raised by most MPs, including from the BN. It doesn’t matter if the media carries it, what is most important is that the minister is forced to reply and address the matter.
If before it is almost impossible for the government to seriously consider the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, today we are discussing the extent of its enforcement –and SIAP –it’s latest reincarnation will hopefully be tabled in June. Don’t worry, I can still attend a couple of days of sitting 😉
But that’s why it’s very important to understand the root cause of the problem. When the incident of crime is mentioned in parliament, MPs get the reply that the statistics show otherwise.
So, we made sure we target the statistics and make our latest campaign, the “CRIME WATCH” in line with efforts made in the Klang Valley. For example the group Making Our Streets Safe. Klang Valley Action. When discrepancies in official data are highlighted, there is no basis for using the index of crime as a basis to dispatch more resources to a particular constituency or not.
Yes, there’s more that I wish I could do. If possible, we’d like to pressure every police officer who takes down reports, to ensure they catch the criminal who put our lives, our loved ones at risk. But this requires systemic changes –where has police professionalism gone as illustrated in the last few days. It begs the question, do civil disobedient criminals deserve more attention than real criminals who destruct our lives, safety and property?
That is why I talk about systemic change when I talk about improvement in the levels of police conduct. As long as politics clouds their judgment, until then shall we remain subservient to evil players at bay.
And finally here with us are friends from other, rather unprivileged areas in Lembah Pantai. In past programs we held with single mothers, and older women who are from the lower income group, to get tested for breast cancer, I sought the help of those living in Sri Pahang.
I feel like a bridge between my constituents in Bangsar and those from Pantai Dalam. It’s not that I am able to solve all their problems, but in every instance and opportunity to serve, I always highlight the need to understand everyone’s needs.
Even for the hawkers –if given the opportunity would like to understand how to make their customers comfortable by ensuring lax enforcement on sporadic parking do not extend after peak hours .
You see, we must help those living an impoverished life to fend for themselves one day. We must empower them by making them understand how it is to climb the social and success ladder. Let’s begin this process and ensure we succeed together.
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Again, many thanks to the individuals who helped made the dialogue a success, and many thanks to The Star for the kind article.
