No ordinary fray

IN a crowded Umno party polls, only the Umno Wanita chief position is a one-on-one contest.

The two in the ring are both big names – former two-term Umno Wanita Chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and incumbent Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad. It is a battle of a predecessor versus her successor.

Both are also very different in character – as is obvious not only in their demeanour but also in their hashtags – Shahrizat’s #tudungmerah vs Noraini’s #SusahSenangKitaBersama.

ALSO READ: Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil #tudungmerah

Nevertheless, this looks set far from a catfight, as both have decided to “fight elegantly,” with the duo saying it is all in the family.

Both want the best for Wanita Umno and the same things – more women political representation and better women empowerment and have had managed to get blessings from Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

What differentiates them is the way they intend to achieve what they promise.

Former women, family and community development minister and Pantai Dalam MP Shahrizat, having stepped down in 2018, is attempting a political comeback.

The fact that she will take on the very person she picked as her successor when she stepped down does not disconcert Shahrizat.

At 69, she has yet to learn to sit still, which is very much the trademark of Shahrizat throughout her years as an active politician.

“I never left. I stepped back. Yet, as I have been asked to return to rejuvenate Wanita Umno, I have to come out of my sabbatical,” says Shahrizat.

Shahrizat is all ideas – and says that she believes she has the numbers to get enough votes from the 191 Umno divisions throughout the country.

She also says that she has weathered the storm, despite her family alleged to be part of a scandal which has yet to be proven in court.

Shahrizat also says that she can commit herself completely to Wanita Umno, as she claimes it needs to rise up once again.

“It needs to be rejuvenated, to rise up, to be heard once again,” says Shahrizat.

Former Higher Education Minister and current Parit Sulong MP Noraini, on the other hand, says that she may not be as vocal or perceived as fun when compared to her predecessors, but the numbers will roll in for her.

“I have a proven track record. Judge me for what I have delivered and not the noise that I make,” says a serious and composed Noraini.

She is now doing her third PhD, for she says that that is the only way she will be forced to make time to read any books.

“I am serious but I can also still laugh with you. But you must know that I took the Wanita reins at a time when the party lost the Federal Government. You need to change the perception of the people who disregarded the party in the last two general elections,” says Noraini.