From rebel with two names to gender equality advocate

 

NTERVIEW | Like many “midlife” PKR politicians, Nor Azrina Surip heeded her calling when she was still in university at the height of the raging reformasi movement.

For Azrina, this meant flouting unwritten rules barring students from anti-establishment politics by sneaking out to opposition rallies and joining student groups that opposed the now-defunct Internal Security Act (ISA).

Upon graduating as a civil engineer, Azrina became a research fellow at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), which technically turned her into a civil servant, making it even harder to continue with her activism.

Her solution? Adopting the nom de guerre "Nurin Aina".

"I was a contract public servant under the then government, thus it was suggested that I use a different name for my political activities," she told Malaysiakini in an interview.

Under the guise of "Nurin Aina", her activism intensified including campaigning against the ruling coalition BN during the 2002 Indera Kayangan by-election.

Over the years, the name "Nurin Aina" stuck with party grassroots.

Both Azrina's real name and pseudonym appeared on her ballot for the PKR central leadership council election, where she has won two consecutive times.

Swift political rise

The 46-year-old was born in Selangor and relocated to Kedah after marriage where she continued her political career.

On her second attempt in 2018, she wrested the Merbok parliamentary seat from BN.

It was no small feat as Merbok was once a BN stronghold and was held by Umno heavyweights such as Daim Zainuddin and the late Zainuddin Maidin.

Azrina now chairs the Special Select Committee on Gender Equality and Family Development.

Tougher for mothers

According to the Dewan Rakyat Hansard, Azrina was one of 15 MPs who had a perfect attendance record of 84 days since July 26 last year. (The Hansard only started recording attendance on that date.)

When told about her feat, Azrina said this was a tough challenge for her because she is a mother to three Kedah-based teenagers.

"Every weekend, I have to prepare their breakfast for the entire week. For lunch, they have to depend on Foodpanda," she said.

Azrina believed that she was not alone in the struggle to juggle between responsibilities to her constituents, Parliament and family.

Female lawmakers, she said, often have to deal with the high cost of childcare.

"Last year, there was a parliamentary sitting during school holidays. I can't leave them at home, right? I brought them along to Kuala Lumpur.

"We couldn't stay in a hotel so I had to rent an apartment and hire a caregiver that cost RM120 a day," she added.

While some legislatures in other countries provide crèche or daycare for lawmakers’ children, Azrina said there was not much progress in this area domestically.

As just one of three females elected to the PKR central leadership council (MPP), Azrina said women empowerment was top on her agenda.

Although PKR's constitution has pledged to have at least 30 percent female representation at every level in the party, there were no clear mechanisms to reach that target.

Women are the future

The problem, Azrina said, spanned from the branch level up to the national leadership.

However, she stressed that PKR was a good vehicle for women who wish to participate in politics because she has seen changes over her two decades with the party.

"I used to hear stories of female party members having to make tea and cook. These jobs used to be relegated to female members. Now, circumstances have changed," she added.

Azrina said she is lobbying for amendments to the party constitution to ensure that seven of the 20 elected MPP positions will be reserved for women.

For the next general election, Azrina is lobbying for a novel strategy in selecting candidates.

"After nominating three male candidates, the next candidate must be female," she added. - Mkini