June Leow - low-profile MP whose mantra is grassroots work

May 9, 2018, was a momentous day that changed lives for many Malaysians as the BN government was toppled through the ballot box. Lost among the hustle and bustle of the historic change was one of the many small stories that unfolded that night.

In the battle for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat, MIC’s deputy education minister P Kamalanathan was thumped by the relatively unknown June Leow Hsiad Hui of PKR. Leow polled 40,783 votes while Kamalanathan got 27,392 and Wan Mat Sulaiman of PAS bagged a tally of 16,620.

Since those heady days, Leow has been settling into her role as a government backbencher. It’s fair to say that she isn’t the most visible of MPs but she tells Malaysiakini in an email interview that she’s not out to score popularity points but to do her best to help her constituents.

“The best moment was when I was announced as the winner during GE14. All of our hard work finally paid off,” she said.

“After campaigning for days and hours throughout Hulu Selangor, the win brought tears of joy to all of us.”

However, the honeymoon of the Pakatan Harapan government has not been particularly longlasting and Leow has been at the receiving end of frustrated voters.

“We as the elected government have been unable to fulfil certain of our manifesto (promises) due to time and financial constraints. We are still eager to work towards them but sometimes it is quite hard to calm the netizens and at the same time to assure them everything will be fulfilled piece by piece.”

Just a small-town girl

To the uninitiated - and that means most of us - Leow was born and raised in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. She is 54, married with three children and graduated with a diploma in accountancy from Penang’s Goon College.

However, Hulu Selangor is very much her adopted home as she moved to the vicinity in 1996.

“It has been 23 years since I moved to Hulu Selangor, specifically Bukit Sentosa.

“I was a full-time housewife until 2010 after which I became a local councillor until 2018. I'm now an active member of PKR and also actively involved with local NGOs,” said Leow.

The step-up to representing Hulu Selangor in Parliament has been quite a leap, but she’s grateful for the years of experience she had in local government.

“It does help a lot even though being an MP is a whole new experience. Eight years as a local councillor makes us more efficient in dealing with local district issues since we knew most of the guidelines and officers and can always discuss the matter effectively.”

She acknowledges that her kawasan is not one of Selangor’s more developed areas and that brings with it a different set of challenges.

“Hulu Selangor is still in the rural area category. We greatly need more upgrades for basic infrastructure like safe and decent roads, full electricity and water supplies, especially in our Orang Asli kampung.

“Telecommunications and Internet coverage also need to be upgraded. Without all these necessities, we unable to attract more investors to Hulu Selangor.

The area does have some industrial development with factories such as Perodua, UMW Aerospace, Tan Chong Motors in Sungai Choh, T7 Kilgour in Serendah and railroad equipment supplier SMH Rail whose RM100 million factory opened up in Rasa in 2016.

“But we are still facing difficulties in developing Hulu Selangor due to the lack of infrastructure. It has great potential, but what we need is continuous support from both the state and federal governments.”

Leow said she would like to see a university and new healthcare facilities in the area to help fuel its growth.

Despite being the largest party in Parliament and a major partner in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, PKR has not become a dominant force akin to the way that Umno used to control BN in the previous government.

In fact, the party is potentially a vehicle for a new brand of politics as a Malay-led multiracial party with elected representatives from many races, religions and regions - something that no other political party in the country’s history can claim.

Yet it is dogged partly by internal strife and scandal, and also by parties on the Malay right-wing determined to scupper the transition plan which should see party president Anwar Ibrahim taking over from Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Malaysia’s eighth prime minister.

Leow called for cool heads to prevail.

“It is common to have a different opinion on certain issues. We need to tackle it ethically and not turn everything into a political battle. I do not have any issue working with anyone as long as it brings benefit to Hulu Selangor and (their agenda) is not against both the federal and PKR constitutions.”

Wan Azizah – the 'iron lady'

A question about which leaders Leow admires the most is telling.

“It’s absolutely (deputy prime minister) Dr Wan Azizah (Wan Ismail). She is the true icon, the iron lady. If we flashback over the journey that she has been through, this iron lady never fails to keep the same main objective for the Pakatan coalition and the country to improve.

“She experienced all kinds of hardship from one GE to another. She deserves all the salute, respect and the accolades for becoming the first woman DPM in Malaysia."

Leow believes that she herself is a team player who is committed to the cause of reform.

“We are working closely with Anwar Ibrahim. We are focusing on reforming Parliament, upgrading policies and practices to improve federal governance. We must not lose our focus which is to keep working and supporting our president who is in line to be the next prime minister.

“I will give my best effort to fight for job opportunities and for the development of the country to make our 'Shared Prosperity Vision 2030' become true,” she said.

Oddly, Leow says that life has not changed that much despite her increased responsibility.

“I had been working as a local councillor before but this time I am more busy than usual. 

“I am comfortable to communicate in Bahasa Malaysia as it will bring me close to the community. However, in some cases, especially in the Chinese rural areas, I need to speak in Mandarin as most of the senior citizens are not fluent in Bahasa. For Indians, if they are unable to speak in Bahasa, I will get help from my officer to translate to understand the issue and their needs.”

Known as a local grassroots leader, Leow believes it is her duty to make a difference in the lives of those around her.

“My family did not prefer for me to be exposed as they want to live a normal life. They do not interfere with my work but they are always there to support my journey.

“I am also grateful to have a great supporting team. From the GE14 campaign until now, my team deserves all the kudos for their effort. My team is always on standby to serve the community. 

“I do not think I need to be visible as I am focused on serving the public. For me, it is more than enough if the people of Hulu Selangor know me and can easily reach me if there is any necessity." - Mkini