When Haslinah Yacob first clapped eyes on Ho Chin Soon, she knew that she had met her future husband. Never mind that he was Chinese or that both their parents baulked at the notion of an interracial union.
She considered neither fact significant enough to back down from what she believed in and single-mindedly forged ahead. This spirit, egged on by a stubborn streak, has taken Haslinah down the road less travelled, and most recently into the political landscape where she will stand as an independent candidate for the 13th general election.
The 49-year-old qualified valuer was unveiled as the third candidate for the newly formed Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) last month. She is the movement’s first female candidate. Her low-key persona has also silenced critics who – after MCLM announced lawyers as its first two candidates – accused it of being an elitist group.
Come March, Haslinah and her 29 other comrades will be deployed to selected constituencies where they will continue their social work until the date for the general election is announced.
“I’m already having sleepless nights,” she confessed with a peal of laughter. “It’s all still very surreal. I’m taking it day by day until I’m actually on the ground.”
Going down to the ground has been a regular route in Haslinah’s life for the past decade. As a volunteer and past president of a women’s NGO, she is an old hand at dealing with harsh realities. Especially when she’s had first-hand practice in her own life.
Haslinah’s mother was married off at the age of 14. She bore nine children. Haslinah is the middle child. Her clearest memory of her mother is the tired speech she delivered whenever each child and grandchild turned 14.
“She never failed to remind us that she was married when she was that age,” Haslinah said. “She was a child shoved into an adult role. My father’s parents had passed on so she not only had to be a wife but also a mother to his siblings.”
“She carried a lot of resentment because she felt robbed of her childhood and felt that her life could have turned out very differently. This is why I strongly oppose child marriages. I don’t want another girl to have to undergo my mother’s experience.”
Independent life
But Haslinah herself was in for a shock when it was her turn to tie the knot. Being educated in a boarding school had groomed her for an independent life. Marriage, however, required that she be subservient to her husband and this time it was her turn to baulk.
“I have never been one to follow the traditional path,” she said. “I’ve never wanted to conform and the fact that I married someone from a different ethnic group is proof of this. I’ve been called a rebel but it’s just that I have a mind of my own and am not afraid of following it.”
Her initial struggle in adapting to her new role as a wife sparked a desire to educate both women and men about gender equality. Once again she obeyed her mind and began speaking out against gender discrimination.
“I’m out to break the stereotype of women as housewives or as less capable employees,” she asserted. “What I’d like to see in place is an Equality Act that champions the rights of men, women and even transsexuals.”
Haslinah’s campaign messages all stem from revelations inspired by her own life experiences. Her defiance in her choice of a life partner has evoked strong feelings about the ethnicity which was further underlined by an incident in her daughter’s school.
When her daughter hesitated over which box to tick in terms of race, a teacher decided to list her as a Chinese based on her father’s ethnicity. This infuriated Haslinah.
“Why should she have to choose?” she demanded. “Why can’t she just be Malaysian? It just goes to show that nothing has changed in the way we define ourselves. Our ethnicity should not be a reason to segregate or seclude us.”
Haslinah’s fourth campaign message is also her most courageous one as it will require exposing a part of her life that she has only recently made peace with. She was raped at 18 and is now relentless in her pursuit to create a safe space for everyone.
“Everyone means men, women and children,” she clarified. “And it goes beyond just making sure lonely roads are brightly lit. It’s about changing mindsets and perceptions which is the single hardest thing to do.”
She looked down at her hands for a moment before raising her head and saying almost fiercely, “Maybe I’m too idealistic but if you don’t have a dream how are you going to get somewhere other than where you already are?”
“I’m contesting because I want to be a lawmaker. I don’t see myself as a politician. I just want to do the work. There is so much that needs to be done and I don’t have time to wait for things to happen.”
Temporary backseat
Yet until six months ago Haslinah had steadily rebuffed her husband’s suggestion that she run for a parliamentary seat. She firmly believed that she could make a change without being involved in politics although she did acknowledge that it would be a slow process.
It was only when MCLM president Haris Ibrahim proposed the idea to her that she took it into serious consideration. She eventually decided that she couldn’t wait for someone else to make changes that she wanted to see and took the plunge.
And now she has every right to nurse that touch of anxiety for this time the ground will be a very different from what she is used to. But here her idealism takes a temporary backseat to practicality.
“There will be resistance,” she affirmed. “There will be nasty things said about me and if I read such comments, I will be affected. So I will have to trust the people who have my best interest at heart to let me know what I need to know.”
“And I have to always keep my finger on the ground because if I don’t, it’s easy to get lost in the politicking and lose focus of the real reason I’m doing this and who I’m doing this for.”
When asked why she was willing to trade her quiet life for one in the unforgiving glare of politics, she smiled.
“There are three types of people,” she said. “Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who ask what happened. I’m the first one.” - FMT
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