Rina to contest Sepang, crowd cheers for ‘local candidate’

Incumbent Titiwangsa MP Rina Harun will shift her focus to the Sepang constituency for GE15 after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed her candidacy for the parliamentary seat today.

Amid cheers from the crowd shouting “calon tempatan” (local candidate), Rina stepped up to the stage to be congratulated by Muhyiddin after he made the announcement during a Perikatan Nasional (PN) event in Dengkil, Sepang this evening.

With her candidacy, Rina said Sepang is going to be a three-way battleground among heads of women’s wings.

Rina - who is Bersatu Women chief - is expected to face Amanah Women chief Aiman Athirah @ Raj Muni Sabu and Pejuang Women chief Che Asmah Ibrahim.

“It looks like Sepang is the focus of central women party leaders. It has been confirmed that the Amanah Women chief and Pejuang Women chief will contest the seat.

“I hope it is a healthy contest but I would have liked it if the women leaders were fielded in other seats. Because when we contest in the same seat, there will be one winner and the rest will lose.

“So I hope many more women are successful,” she said at the event.

Also present were PN information chief Azmin Ali, Senator Khairil Nizam Khirudin, Dengkil assemblyperson Adhif Syan Abdullah and PN Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari.

Organisers estimated at least 3,000 residents of Bukit Changgang and neighbouring towns gathered at Dataran Sadiman in Dengkil for the event which included dinner and lucky draws.

Among them was stroke survivor Norhayati Sulaiman, 53, who said she participates in party work every time election nears and didn’t want to miss out this year.

No stranger to Sepang

Rina is no stranger to the constituency as she was previously the Sepang Puteri Umno chief and she will attempt to woo the Malay majority voter bank over the next three weeks.

However, the women, family, and community development minister often finds herself in controversy. In September, she caught flak over a video that featured actor Rosyam Nor which many perceived to have belittled women.

More recently, Rina made it into incumbent Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng’s top 10 ministers who failed to make the grade, for failing to defend the dignity of women and turning a blind eye to gender discrimination.

Senator Fadhlina Sidek also gave the minister poor ratings on her performance.

Comparing Rina to former law minister Azalina Othman Said, Fadhlina said the latter was doing more work on women’s issues than the actual minister.

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