Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s candidate for Ayer Kuning KS Bawani (middle) declaring her assets during a walkabout at pasar tani tapah.(20th April 2025)—RONNIE CHIN/The Star
TAPAH: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) candidate KS Bawani is the first contender in the Ayer Kuning by-election to declare assets after being the first candidate to reveal a campaign manifesto.
Making the declaration in public at the farmers’ market here, Bawani, a lawyer by profession, said the total value of assets owned was RM21,248.46.
“Among the three candidates, I am the youngest, and some think that being a lawyer means I must earn a lot.
“But in reality, I take on many pro bono cases, especially for the indigenous communities and farmers.
“I don’t own a fancy car, haven’t bought a house and I still have debts,” she told reporters on Sunday (April 20).
Bawani, who is from Ayer Kuning and lives with her mother there, stated that it was important for every elected representative and candidates contesting in elections to declare their assets before the election.
“It’s a way for the public to maintain checks and balances. We want to clean representatives,” she said.
She also challenged the Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional candidates to declare their assets as well.
“This is to prevent the rise of corrupt politicians,” said Bawani.
She noted that after over a week of campaigning, everywhere she went, the residents of Ayer Kuning voiced similar concerns, mainly regarding the roads, especially affecting both hawkers and everyday users from regions such as Bidor, Kampar, Tapah and Air Kuning.
“Some issues were never publicised and remained unresolved for decades. We want to bring that to the surface.
“When it comes to the actual polling day, one of the concerns we have is about out-of-town voters, and how to bring back young voters, ” she said.
Bawani added PSM has been running their campaign purely on volunteer effort.
“Today is day nine, and volunteers continue to support us. Farmers donate vegetables, volunteers cook daily at our operations centre, distribute flyers, put up flags and spread our messages online.
“Some can’t join in person but send donations and motivational support, because many are saying ‘Your win is a win for all Malaysians’,” she said.
Bawani said that compared to the last general election, the momentum was different. People see this by-election as a referendum and a wake-up call to the current government.
“I hope the people give us, the underdogs, a chance,” she said.
The Ayer Kuning by-election was called after its incumbent, Ishsam Shahruddin, passed away in February.
Polling occurs on April 26, while early voting takes place on April 22.
It would see a three-corner fight between Barisan Nasional’s Dr Mohamad Yusri Bakir, Abd Muhaimin Malek of Perikatan Nasional and Bawani, who is PSM’s deputy secretary-general.
