Noraishah leaves varsity comfort zone for parliamentary seat challenge

 

Noraishah says it was difficult to leave her comfort zone but that she was doing it for the younger generation. (Facebook pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Pakatan Harapan’s Noraishah Mydin Abdul Aziz said her drive to help people has led her to sacrifice her career in a bid to become Putrajaya’s next MP.

“The hardest part (of entering politics) was that I had built a sanctuary in my department (at Universiti Malaya) where I was constantly surrounded by my postgraduate students whom I adored.

“But I’m doing this for them in the long run as this country has a lot of challenges for the younger generation to overcome,” the spina bifida researcher told FMT.

Noraishah, who has spina bifida herself, has only been a PKR member for a month but has long been interested in politics. She said her experience as someone with a disability is what sparked her “political conscience”.

She is now contesting the Putrajaya seat against Barisan Nasional heavyweight Tengku Adnan Mansor and Perikatan Nasional’s Radzi Jidin, a senior minister, and three others.

Noraishah wants to “elevate the quality of life” in Putrajaya, by addressing issues linked to infrastructure, food prices, the lack of nurseries and tuition centres as well as neighbourhood safety.

“By focusing on these areas, everyone is heard and represented, which is what I want,” she added.

She said campaigning was exciting and that she was blessed to have a team of helpers for GE15.

On criticism by some in PKR over her candidacy, Noraishah said it did not bother her and that her focus was on her campaign.

“People have a right to their opinions; we wouldn’t want them to be censored. If anything, there’s too much censorship in this country.

“My focus is on my campaign and having a team that I trust is paramount and critical. I just go about doing the best that I can in the limited amount of time that I have.”

Some in PKR were critical of Noraishah’s candidacy, given that she was named as a candidate two weeks after she joined the party.

The battle for Putrajaya sees a six-cornered fight between Noraishah, Tengku Adnan, Radzi, Pejuang’s Rosli Ramli and independent candidates Lim Fice Bee and Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi. - FMT