‘Kampung girl’ to KL mayor, Maimunah to leverage on her wealth of experience

 

Maimunah Sharif, 63, clocks in as Kuala Lumpur mayor this morning. (MPSP pic)

GEORGE TOWN: 

Maimunah Sharif, the self-described 

kampung girl

 from Negeri Sembilan, intends on leveraging on her wealth of experience as a councillor and six-year stint with the United Nations, as Kuala Lumpur’s new mayor.

Having spent her childhood in a rural area, where her parents worked as rubber tappers, the town planner says her humble beginnings have shaped her thinking when it comes to urban development, namely one that puts people, inclusivity, and sustainability first.

In an interview with FMT following the announcement that she has been appointed the Kuala Lumpur mayor from today, Maimunah, 63, reflected on her journey from Kuala Pilah to being the head of a UN agency and how her experience will shape her leadership at City Hall.

Maimunah said she obtained a scholarship to study in the UK after secondary school, graduating with an urban planning degree at Cardiff University.

She returned to Malaysia in 1985 to work as a town planner at the Penang Island Municipal Council, before rising the ranks as planning department director in 2003.

She was promoted the first general manager of George Town World Heritage Inc, the state agency that manages the Unesco World Heritage Site, in 2009.

Maimunah was appointed the Seberang Perai municipal council president in 2011 and later served briefly as Penang Island City Council mayor in 2017.

The following year, she assumed the role of UN-Habitat executive director, becoming the first Asian woman to hold the office.

She was elected for a second term, which ended on Jan 19 this year. She also held the post of acting director-general of the UN office in Nairobi before returning to Malaysia in February.

Despite her impressive resume, Maimunah said she is deeply connected to her roots. 

I believe in people,

 she said, recalling how her experience with poverty and her pro-people and pro-business principles in Penang have guided her throughout her UN career.

I brought these principles with me to New York (and) to Nairobi, which I used in Penang. I believe in engaging the people, professional bodies, and even civil servants. A leader must have a vision, but it’s important to have a mix between top-down and bottom-up approaches,

 she said.

She said her appointment as Kuala Lumpur mayor is a major recognition, especially for one coming far from a life of poverty.

Maimunah recounted that she had to do her homework under a kerosene lamp as a child and helped her parents tap rubber at dawn before heading out to school.

Asked about her immediate plans for the capital, she responded that she could not say as she would only be briefed by her colleagues today when she clocks in.

Maimunah, who said she remains a Penangite at heart, having lived 30 years of her life there, laughed off the challenges of taking on such a demanding role at her age.

I am only 36,

 she quips. 

It’s all in the mind. - FMT