Assistant minister also looks beyond familiar territory in search of new opportunities to bring her people to higher levels of progress, prosperity
Sharifah Hasidah has proven her worth in the male-dominated sphere.
Feminine, cordial and caring, Assistant Minister in Chief Minister’s Department – Law, Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and State-Federal Relations Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali does not disappoint as a people’s representative (YB).
Certainly, those fine qualities are plus points for the dedicated politician and, as a matter of fact, a defining factor for her to be strong in a male-dominated territory.
A lawyer by training, she already established her own law firm, Sharifah Hasidah and Co. Advocates, before being called to stand in the 2006 state election. Her mother, the then-Assistant Minister of Women Welfare and Affairs, Datuk Sharifah Mordiah Tuanku Fauzi, had emboldened her to be a nominee.
Prior to the polls, the veteran politician – also the longest-serving woman politician in Sarawak – had expressed her intention of retiring from active politics upon finishing her term of office. Highly regarded for her loyalty and contribution to her political party and state at large, Sharifah Mordiah was in turn asked by the party leaders to nominate a potential candidate from her family to stand in Samariang, which was then her state constituency, in the 2006 election.
Although politically-inclined, Sharifah Hasidah was initially a little indecisive on entering politics. She was weighing the pros and cons of being a politician, as she wanted to be sure that she was ready for ‘the big assignment’. Having done so and with the encouragement and support from family and party members, she finally took up the challenge.
She stood and won with a landslide victory in the 2006 state election.
The result, which was more than she had anticipated, was without doubt a demonstration of the people’s trust in her.
The trust was well-earned – Sharifah Hasidah’s groundwork had actually begun long before she joined the political party, so to speak.
Even as a child, she grew up watching her mother engaging and discussing with people, helping to make things easy for them, and giving generously.
She saw her mother delivering political speeches in such patriotic manner and eloquently at political gatherings.
Early foray into politics
Sharifah Hasidah and her siblings would follow their mother on routine visits across the constituency or on her campaign trips even to places that could only be reached by boats.
The children were engaged in the activities and the process remained a big influence in their lives. Not surprisingly, Sharifah Hasidah became a member of her mother’s political party at a very young age. It was in 2002 that she held a position in the party when she was appointed deputy treasurer of its Kampung Malaysia Jaya branch.
Sharifah Hasidah was also inspired by both her paternal and maternal grandmothers who were among the early patriots and women pioneers in politics.
Her maternal grandmother, Sharifah Hasidah Tuanku Mansor, after whom she was named, was among the 400 civil servants (known as the ‘388 Movement’) who resigned en bloc as a protest against the ceding of Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946; her paternal grandmother, Datuk Paduka Pemanca Sharifah Rehanah Syed Razali was a founding member of the Barisan Rakyat Jati Sarawak (BARJASA), the early political party that eventually merged with Parti Negara Sarawak (PANAS) to form what is known today as Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB).
Closeness to the people
Clearly, it was her charisma and closeness with the people through the years that had garnered the absolute majority for Sharifah Hasidah on her first state election. Suffice it to say that before the election, she was already a winner. The new member of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN), representing the Samariang constituency, would keep her family legacy alive through her sincere commitment.
She would do her utmost best to serve the people and state.
The years that followed bore out her competence in the political arena as she remained true and steadfast to her commitment to serving the people. To date, she has stood and won landslide victories in four respective state elections, with increased majority each time – she won by a vast majority in the latest one called on Dec 18 last year.
Sharifah Hasidah considers it a privilege to have the opportunity to serve the people through politics.
“Politics, if not abused, is the best platform where you can uplift the lives of people and bring about development,” she said, without mincing her words.
Sharifah Hasidah shares a light moment with a senior citizen during one of her walkabouts.
Sharifah Hasidah makes up the handful of women politicians in the Sarawak Cabinet.
“It takes a lot of courage for a woman to be a politician as we are treading on a male-dominated domain.
“The trust that the voters have given us becomes a great encouragement for us to prove our capability in the Legislative Assembly no matter what the tasks.
“The people are the reason for us to be here,” she pointed out.
Cutting a graceful figure, Sharifah Hasidah is not one who can be taken for just a beautiful face. Just as looks can be deceiving, she proves her worth in the male-dominated sphere.
“The key is know what you’re doing and be professional and focused on the task given to you,” she said assuredly.
Having come a long way, Sharifah Hasidah has learned to take political issues and setbacks in stride and do her best to tackle them based on her knowledge and findings. She also has learned to ignore negative criticisms, but assess the constructive ones for further action and personal improvement.
“If we are afraid of criticisms, we will not be able to do anything – much less progress,” she pointed out.
Leading MA63 legal team
Her assignment to pursue the constitutional amendments to protect Sarawak’s rights under MA63 in recent years has attracted much attention.
“Although it’s not an easy task, I consider it an honour to have the chance of fighting for Sarawak’s rights within what is stipulated in the Agreement,” she said, in her capacity as Sarawak’s Assistant Minister of Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations.
The pursuit to restore Sarawak’s rights as enshrined in MA63 is a legally-sound initiative, but the process requires tact, determination and a sound knowledge of how Malaysia was formed.
The efforts of Sharifah Hasidah’s legal team have shown positive result – some demands have been successfully met.
“We will continue to pursue the cause in a responsible and measured approach with achievable targets and in the spirit of Malaysia,” assured the assistant minister.
Sharifah Hasidah and her team at the Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur when Sarawak won the case against Petronas – the court ruled that the state’s oil mining ordinance was ‘valid and enforceable’.
As a politician, she receives unceasing support from her husband and other members of her family, especially her mother.
She was a wife and mother of three school age children in the beginning of her political career.
“Both my mom and my mom-in-law have always been very supportive of me becoming a politician. They were all too happy to help me with my young children.”
For one thing, her involvement in politics never deprived her of a close relationship with her children.
“My husband and I share the responsibilities of raising our children. As husband and wife, we support each other a lot. Somehow, we are always able to find ways to manage our family life and spend quality time together. It’s really a balancing act,” she added.
Support from family
Sharifah Hasidah draws much strength and encouragement from the moral support that she gets from her family. This is clearly seen in her work.
It goes without saying that she is well loved in her constituency. The development in Samariang constituency is widely visible as it continues to progress in terms of infrastructure, programmes and activities. While her house as well as the party’s service centre are accessibly located within the area, she makes visits to the people as often as every two to three days or even more a week.
“I see the people as real people. Sometimes, they want us to help them. I will listen honestly and sincerely, and not just pretend to listen. We have to have the desire of wanting to help people and empathising with them irrespective of their race or religion,” she stressed.
The assemblywoman seen during a visit to the St Paul Church at Kampung Siol Kandis in her Samariang constituency.
Sharifah Hasidah goes to their homes, sits down with them and takes note of their problems. With her down-to-earth and kindly personality, she is always found to be at ease with the people.
Meeting and engaging with them come naturally for the caring assemblywoman.
“We can only know their problems better by meeting them personally. In our effort to reach out to those in need more effectively, we have set a welfare bureau in the constituency.
“There are people who have health issues or are in need of welfare aid, or whose children are still jobless and the list goes on.
“We will try to help in whatever way we can,” she said.
Sharifah Hasidah speaks passionately about her social mission of creating a broad enabling opportunity for young people, particularly the impoverished, to have equal access to educational and entrepreneurial opportunities, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or gender.
In her constituency, human capital development and education are given high priority.
In this regard, she encourages and supports the initiatives of schools and parent-teacher associations (PTAs), as well as youth programmes and activities that contribute to enriching the scope of human resource development.
Sharifah Hasidah believes that an elected representative can only know the constituents’ problems better by meeting them personally.
A proud product of St Teresa
A true-blue Sarawakian, Sharifah Hasidah is proud of the prevailing harmony among people of many races, religions, and creeds. Her innate affinity for individuals of all races comes naturally to her as a Sarawakian. She is a ‘genuine Teresian’ who attended St Teresa’s School (a mixed-race all-girls school) from kindergarten to Form 5, and is used to having friends from different races, whether they are Ibans, Bedayuh, Malay, or Chinese.
Sarawak’s beauty of unity in diversity, she believes, is priceless and must be preserved for future generations.
Sharifah Hasidah remains committed to the collective cause of making Sarawak a high-income state with an expanding middle class, where jobs and opportunities are provided based on merit rather than religion, race, or gender, even as she forges ahead and looks beyond familiar territory in search of new opportunities to bring her people to higher levels of progress and prosperity.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3LxthOH
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