CALONKINI | Some may already know Warisan's wirawati deputy chief Jo-Anna Sue Henley Rampas as a former Unduk Ngadau (harvest festival) beauty pageant queen or as the first runner-up of the Bintang RTM singing competition in 2009, or maybe even as a model during her university days.

But Rampas recently came under the spotlight following talk that she would be Warisan's candidate to take on incumbent Kiulu state representative Joniston Bangkuai, a former journalist.

Warisan has just announced that Rampas will indeed be fielded as the party’s candidate for Kiulu.

And many could not help but fawn over her looks. Just Google her name and the first article that comes out describes her as a "sexy, hot beauty queen".

Blessed with good looks, certainly, but this may also pose as a challenge for the 29-year-old to convince people that she is not just another pretty face.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Rampas admitted that it was not wrong for her to say that she was indeed blessed with "these attributes".

"(But) to be fair, what I'm focusing on is winning the majority vote, maybe this is a bonus, good attributes given by God.

"My focus has not always been on 'oh, you're the former Miss Unduk Ngadau' because the truth of the matter is I joined politics because I wanted to make some change for my community, especially in Kiulu.

"I want to win the election. Hopefully people will see the merits of how I will be bringing myself to the villages," she said.

Not poster girl

Rampas also denied that her party was using her to get votes.

"I don't want people to think of me as if I'm going there to advertise myself, no. Really, I want to go there and tell the people we have to make a change.

"Sometimes people may also think that I'm using my face to fish for votes. I don't want people to think of me that way."

Exasperation in her voice, Rampas pointed out how her participation in the Unduk Ngadau pageantry was a one-time thing and had occurred 11 years ago.

"Don't look at what I did in the past, I've grown up so much since then. I was 18, now I'm 29," she said.

Born in Kota Kinabalu and primarily raised by her late grandmother in Kiulu until she was nine, Rampas then moved to Penampang and lived there until she was 17.

It was during her time in Kuala Lumpur while doing her law degree that she took up singing and modelling.

"When I was a student, I needed the extra income," the ever-smiling Rampas chuckled.

Rampas did her masters degree in law in England before working in a telecommunications company there.

"The job was perfect for me because I had to deal with music and they needed someone with a legal background."

Giving back

Born to a Kadazandusun mother and a British father, Rampas, who has worn many hats replied with the word "people", when asked what her number one passion was.

"'I've never really thought of myself becoming a politician, but I've always liked to give back to the community.

"That has always been passion, I like meeting people, I like to get in touch with people and listen to them.

"My passion has always been serving the people, I've always liked that. In whatever capacity that I can, that's what I would like to do," she said.

The eldest of three siblings even considered the Unduk Ngadau beauty pageant as a stepping stone for her to "help her community".

"Being a politician is way beyond my imagination. It was never in my bucket list.

"But I've always wanted to do something to give back to my community and especially in Kiulu I want to see it moving forward in whatever way but I guess I never had the chance.

"Perhaps if I become the candidate, hopefully if God willing we win, I will do something for my people," promised Rampas.

While she never envisioned herself as a politician, Rampas said she had always been interested in politics.

Her maternal grandfather was a native chief in Kiulu.

"It's part of why I got into politics. I grew up in an environment in which I knew that my grandfather was a native chief.

"I grew up with my mother standing in 1994 under BN and my uncle stood under BN too."

Rampas' uncle, Louis Rampas, was Kiulu's three-term state assemblyperson.

The elder Rampas was replaced by Bangkuai in the last general election. Bangkuai, however, won with a razor-thin majority of 44 votes.

This is Rampas' story, in her own words:

I COULD SAY THAT DUSUN IS MY FIRST LANGUAGE. Dusun, sad to say, is a dying language because most of the new generation don't really know how to speak the language. They understand but they don't have a good command of Dusun. When I grew up during my adolescence, the first language that I used to hear was my grandmother's language, which is why I could say that Dusun is my first language. My situation is a bit different, it's because my grandmother couldn't really speak any other language, it was just Dusun, which is why I would say my command of Dusun is pretty good.

I WOULD SAY 'CASH IS KING' NOT ONLY IN SABAH BUT AROUND THE WORLD. You cannot just say that for Sabah only. (But) you know Sabah has the highest poverty rate. If cash is king, there is a high chance where money politics can really make a lot of impact, that's why we are working so hard to go to the voters. I tell them to "take whatever that is given to you" but don't vote for them.

I JOINED WARISAN BECAUSE I SAW ITS CHANCE TO GO AGAINST UMNO. The truth of the matter is, here in Sabah, the sentiment is we want to take Umno out from the state. Before this, I didn't see any opposition party that had the ability to do that. I'm very confident now that Warisan has a chance to go against the Umno seats in Sabah. The majority of the seats here are dominated by Umno, only a couple are Chinese and Dusun seats.

Even if you mix the seats, the Umno seats are still huge, perhaps this is why they say Sabah is one of the safe deposits for BN. (Warisan deputy president) Darell Leiking asked me to join them as I was giving my wedding invitation to him. It took me quite a while until I filled in the form, as I was considering all aspects. I finally joined in early December 2016.

IT'S NORMAL BEING CRITICISED, AND CALLED 'BEAUTY WITHOUT BRAINS'. Especially since I'm a woman, I'm an easy victim. They can say anything but the truth of the matter is, I just brush them away. Before I joined politics, I knew for a fact that these things will all come to me. They can say whatever, but let the rakyat decide, let them see and I will go to the ground and show them that I'm not a beauty without brains.

I've heard all sorts of critiques but this is typical in politics. If it's not correct, why should you care about it, you just move forward because the main focus is to win this election and to win the majority vote.

MY UNCLE AND I ARE VERY CLOSE, WE DON'T TALK ABOUT POLITICS WHEN WE SEE EACH OTHER. There are no issues with my uncle, we go to church together, we sit down at the same table to eat (but) we never talk about politics. He never asked, nor have I said anything. He's the Parti Bersatu Sabah division chief in Kiulu but I don't ask him these questions.

Family is family. I don't want to bring any problem to the family. If he wants, he can go ahead with PBS while I go ahead with Warisan.

I'M VERY BLESSED THAT MY HUSBAND IS A VERY UNDERSTANDING MAN. He's a medical specialist. The good thing is, since he's a specialist he can be a bit flexible, which is when I need him to be with me then he can schedule his time. It's a lot easier than medical officers.

THE ONE I LOOK UP TO IN HOW TO JUGGLE MY TIME IS HANNAH YEOH. Her husband is my husband's cousin. She has two kids, I always ask her how she juggles things, she says it's doable. She's someone I confide with on these things - she's a housewife, she's the speaker of the state assembly, she says it's doable, so I try to implement that into my situation as well, and it's actually doable.

First thing early in the morning I must make sure everything is settled, and after that I go to work But of course you must have an understanding husband for a wife to be in politics. (Now it's) 100 percent (political work). I've dedicated my time and effort into politics. We'll see what's the outcome after the election, hopefully it's all worthwhile.

WIN OR LOSE, I WILL STILL BE ACTIVE IN WARISAN, BUT I WILL HAVE TO FOCUS ON HAVING A FAMILY AFTER THE ELECTIONS. I've been married a year and a half, so I think it's time for me to have toddlers running around the house already. But I will definitely still be helping Warisan, if I don't win.

But even if I win, I still want to have kids. And if things don't go well in this election, perhaps I will go back to practising law.

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.

PREVIOUSLY FEATURED

Enigmatic Bersatu Women's chief under the spotlight for Titiwangsa

With a passion for policy, PKR's Nurainie takes up GE14 challenge

MCA’s Lee seeks to be architect of development in Sekinchan

Now in Bersatu, Johor speaker's son may battle own stepmom

Trucker Shanmugam is PSM’s pick to drive change in Port Klang

From PAS to DAP, Sheikh Omar takes road less travelled to Paloh

How M'sia's brain drain sparked DAP rising star's political awakening

SUPP-rising star from Sungai Apong fisher colony

'I wanted to sell cars, but Reformasi came along'

DAP’s newbie Chew wants to bring Johoreans home