CALONKINI | Even before Rina Harun was announced as Bersatu's candidate for the Titiwangsa parliamentary seat, many had wondered who she was.

Despite not being in the public eye, she is in fact Bersatu Women's wing chief and has served the position for a year since her appointment on April 5, 2017.

But unlike her Bersatu Youth counterpart Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Rina is undoubtedly not as well-known.

However, there is a reason for her absence from the glare of the media.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Rina said her time thus far as the Women's wing chief of Bersatu has been filled with trips around the country.

Trips, she said, that had been necessary as the Women's wing was almost "directionless" before her appointment as its chief.

"I was all over the country two days after my appointment. At the time I realised that the election was near but the Women's wing still needed to be taught (many things) because they come from various backgrounds.

"To me, the grassroots is very important, we have to have strong grassroots. We had to go to every division and members needed to go for courses.

"That's why I decided to let it be Bersatu chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, Bersatu deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir and Syed Saddiq to do the talking because someone needs to do the work on the ground. We can't expect everyone to speak.

"Yes, maybe it is an unpopular job, but it needs to be done," Rina added, with a shrug.

Rina, who just last week turned 45, admitted that the strategy was for her to first strengthen the party's grassroots before working on her branding.

"But towards the end, there were certain elements that started affecting the women's wing, such as some of our members being offered dedak (handouts), so I had to control them.

"One of our members was offered as high as RM250,000, but she rejected it despite her circumstances. I really appreciate those who have the willpower to reject such offers.

"Our enemy is Umno/BN, which attack us from both inside and outside the party, from left to right and it has become more complex with the election happening soon, so I have not had the time to focus on branding."

Rina's appointment as the Bersatu Women's chief was not one without contention.

Some had accused her of being a crony of the party's leaders as a reason for her appointment.

However, the entrepreneur said she was asked by the party's top leaders for suggestions on ways to choose the Women's wing chief and had merely suggested that each candidate for the position to present her action plan.

"At the time, I had no intention to become the Women's chief. But the panel, which included Muhyiddin, (former Bersatu leader) Hamidah Osman and the secretary-general, took my suggestion and after that, I was informed of my appointment.

"I was surprised because I only came to share my ideas. That's why I asked Muhyiddin to give me two weeks before he made the announcement so that the announcement, which was finally made on April 5, came with my team and I as opposed to me alone."

Anina Saadudin more suited for post?

Acknowledging that there were those who believed that Bersatu founder Anina Saadudin was more suited as the Women's chief, Rina said if Anina was indeed more eligible for the post, there would not have been a need for Rina to go to each division to streamline the party's organisation.

"I could have promoted myself as the Women's chief right from the start if everything on the ground was ready.

"But it's not about merely being a good speaker on stage while the grassroots is hopeless," she pointed out.

Anina (photo) was removed as the party Women's chief following a sex scandal she was implicated in.

Bersatu at the time had clarified that the party had yet to even officially set up its Women's wing.

Anina subsequently left Bersatu in September last year and has been critical of the party ever since.

Aside from the Women's chief post, Rina also spoke about her candidacy for the Titiwangsa seat, a decision, she said, that also came as a surprise to her.

"If I knew I would be fielded in Titiwangsa, I would have gone there from the start.

"If there are those who question the party's decision to appoint me; well, shouldn't I be confident in myself when the panel - led by Mahathir, Muhyiddin and Mukhriz - has confidence in me?"

Born in Tanjung Karang and raised in Titiwangsa before her family moved to Sepang when she was 18, Rina admitted that she has only been in Titiwangsa twice before her announcement as Pakatan Harapan's candidate for the seat.

"I was there as the Women's wing chief of Bersatu and it was part of my nationwide programme."

Rina also admitted that if given the choice, she would have preferred to contest a seat in Selangor.

"Because I'm in Sepang now, I thought it would be better if it's a Selangor seat. If Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil decided to contest in Sungai Besar, I would not have minded contesting there – but she has decided not to.

"Maybe (I was chosen) due to the local factor as I grew up in Titiwangsa," said Rina, who has yet to have an opportunity to ask the party's leaders on the reasons behind her candidacy for Titiwangsa.

While campaigning is due to officially start on April 28, Rina has started going to the ground and claimed to have obtained positive feedback from voters in Titiwangsa.

'Many people want change'

"I did not introduce myself as the candidate, I merely distributed flyers for people to choose PKR, but so far the response has been positive, many are in support of us.

"Many people want change, the people are confident with Harapan because we are the voice of rakyat."

While her candidacy had come as a surprise for Rina, many in her own party had also been surprised when the decision was made at a party meeting two weeks ago.

This is because there had been talk that Bersatu deputy strategy chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan would be the one to be fielded in Titiwangsa.

A Bersatu supreme council member had said that fielding Rina would give incumbent Titiwangsa MP Johari Abdul Ghani (photo) an easy win.

Responding to this, Rina, a former Puteri Umno executive council member, cited the case of PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar who went against Shahrizat in 2008.

Nurul Izzah wrested the Lembah Pantai seat from Shahrizat with 2,895 votes.

"So let's wait for May 9. If the rakyat is confident with us that we are bringing their voice, they will also be brave to make the change.

"Winning Titiwangsa is not about me becoming a member of Parliament. It's not for me. It would be a win for the rakyat, especially those in Titiwangsa," Rina said.

In the last general election, Johari won the seat with a razor-thin majority of 866 votes against Ahmad Zamri Asa'ad Khuzaimi of PAS.

Here she shares her story, in her own words.

I STARTED WORKING IN MY FAMILY'S RESTAURANT SINCE I WAS IN STANDARD THREE. My parents opened the restaurant in the 1970s in Kuala Lumpur. I am the eldest of six siblings. I'm used to being independent, I took public transportation since I was in Standard One. I studied at Sekolah Datuk Keramat 1 in Titiwangsa until Standard Six and at the Sekolah Tun Fatimah boarding school in Johor Bahru from Form One until Form Five.

I did my diploma in banking studies at Universiti Teknologi Mara in Malacca and in Segamat, Johor, before doing my business degree, a double major in banking and finance and management at Northwood University in Michigan and graduating in 1997.

I worked as a banker until 2002 before opening my own restaurant and starting a media company that produced dramas. I still have a restaurant and a media company, but this one is a different one than the one before, I closed the previous one. I love to travel and I love to cook.

I JOINED PUTERI UMNO SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2000. I managed to get about 700 people to form Puteri Umno for the Sepang division. I was Selangor Puteri Umno deputy secretary and Selangor Puteri Umno vice-chief before I became a Puteri Umno executive council member.

As a Puteri Umno leader, I encouraged entrepreneurship among young women and organised many courses on entrepreneurship. I was involved with the education of Sepang children so I am quite close to the heads of schools in Sepang.

THE REASON I JOINED UMNO WAS TO GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY. I did not come from a rich family, so when I returned from the US and my Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) loan was converted into a scholarship, it was an opportunity for me to give back to society.

Before Puteri Umno was formed, I was not actively involved in politics, I was just a member of the Chicago Umno Club but I wanted to help, that's why I organised welfare programmes.

MAHATHIR HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY IDOL. Even while I was still in Umno, everyone in Sepang knew about this. I always gave my views during Umno meetings but they did not take my views seriously when I told them I have cousins who work as a general manager and an engineer but had to sell satay and burgers at night.

When I told the top leadership about the problem of high cost of living, they say it's good that my cousins could work two to three jobs, but they did not get my message.

Umno leaders say things like "don't eat fish if it's expensive" and "carpool if the price of petrol increases". I saw how Umno has deviated from its real fight. When I chose to be with Mahathir, many branded me as a traitor to the Malays.

But we have given Umno 60 years to rule, and they have deviated so far , and their slogan to prioritise the rakyat remains just a slogan.

I never regret leaving Umno and I don't mind that they call me a traitor because I believe that the decision that I have taken is indeed correct.

UNDER MAHATHIR, WOMEN WERE ELEVATED. I get annoyed when people see me and say that I would perhaps become a minister in charge of women's affairs. They think that women are only capable of that.

Look at women during Mahathir's time; Rafidah Aziz was in charge of the International Trade and Industry Ministry, we had Napsiah Omar who was also a minister holding several portfolios. Mahathir elevated the position of women so women must give full support to Harapan.

BERSATU'S WOMEN'S WING HAS FACED VARIOUS THREATS. Some Bersatu members had people following them and they even threatened to smash their cars. Some even had their mothers being told to tell them to resign from their posts if "they don't want their daughters to return home as crazy women".

Despite all these, many persevered and said that the struggle must continue. These were some of the things we faced but we did not tell anyone because we tried to solve the problems ourselves.

The Women's wing has also been focusing on gauging voters' support. We conducted surveys, we went to the ground. We not only go from house to house but we go from one warung to another. This differentiates us from Puteri Umno and we also conduct dialogues during ceramah sessions. I don't see Umno doing this.

We want to show the rakyat that we listen to them. Right now we have between 30,000 to 40,000 members in the Bersatu Women's wing.

I AM BRINGING HARAPAN'S NAME IN TITIWANGSA WHILE JOHARI IS BRINGING ONLY HIMSELF. To change the country's policies, especially since many are burdened with the GST, Harapan needs to have enough seats in Parliament.

Harapan needs to win Titiwangsa, if not, people there will only continue to receive aid but the problems will not get solved. More and more houses are built in Titiwangsa but the people cannot afford them because they are so expensive.

I will approach as many voters as possible and I want to tell them that this is not a battle of me against Johari but a battle between the rakyat and (caretaker prime minister) Najib Abdul Razak's kleptocratic government. I want them to realise that to change policies, we need more seats in Parliament. I want them to see the bigger picture.

I WILL BE BRINGING THE PEOPLE'S STORY TO PARLIAMENT. Real stories. Even while I was in Umno I was talking about real stories concerning the rakyat. The government says that the economy is improving but only the people know what the reality is.

The government is proud that BR1M recipients are increasing, but is that something we should be proud of? I will be bringing the people's stories as opposed to false stories about the people that are only good for the people to hear.

The job of a parliamentarian is not about going to Parliament and weddings alone. As lawmakers, we can change policies.

I want Titiwangsa to have more affordable houses and I want it to be an example of a constituency that takes care of the people's welfare, despite being in the middle of the city.

CALONKINI introduces new faces from all sides of the political divide who are potential candidates for the 14th general election.

These interviews are not an endorsement by Malaysiakini.

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