YOUNG and seasoned volunteers are the main drivers behind former Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah’s election campaign in Petaling Jaya.

Her campaign managers – Ivy Josiah and Masjaliza Hamzah – are both prominent activists in their own right. Ivy was the executive director for Women’s Aid Organisation while Masjaliza was the executive director for Centre for Independent Journalism.

“We were so relieved after nomination day. I was worried the Election Commission would not accept her papers due to a minor technical error,” Ivy said, crediting the EC officers for their professionalism and friendliness.

“I’ve known Maria for more than 30 years. We worked together to push for the Domestic Violence Act (1995). I know her work ethic and commitment. I believe she will be a member of parliament we can trust and rely on,” she said.

Other women’s rights activists, who have worked with Maria since the 1980s, Ho Yock Lin and Betty Yeoh from All Women’s Action Society Malaysia (AWAM), were also spotted helping out at her campaign centre at Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Unlike Barisan Nasional campaign volunteers, Maria’s volunteers are not paid.

Ivy, a Petaling Jaya voter herself, said they intend to keep campaign expenses below the legal limit of RM200,000.

She said Maria only decided to contest the elections as a civil society representative after consulting her colleagues in Bersih 2.0 and the women’s rights movement earlier this year.

Dr Sumatra Jayaraj, 35, from Wangsa Maju took two months off work to help recruit and manage polling and counting agents for Maria.

At first, she was worried that the team could not recruit the 600 polling and counting agents needed in time.

“Now we have enough and there are still people enquiring.

“We cannot assume that Petaling Jaya is a safe seat with the addition of Seri Setia. It has some 52,000 voters. It’s the largest state seat in Selangor,” added Dr Sumatra, also an advocate for women’s sexual and reproductive health rights herself.

With 140,920 voters, Petaling Jaya is one of the largest federal constituencies in the country. Maria faces a three-cornered fight against Barisan Nasional and PAS candidates on May 9.

One of the polling and counting agents, Elaine Liaw, 40, a project manager from Cheras, said she decided to volunteer after attending an Invoke training.

“We were informed that Petaling Jaya is a marginal seat. I have participated in Bersih’s rallies. I support Maria’s manifesto and what she stands for,” said Liaw.

First-time campaign volunteer, Mayna Patel, 27, said she looks up to Maria as an idol.

“As a young woman who wants to push for change, having people to look up to is important. Maria was an activist for so many years before she entered politics.

“If there is anyone who can push for women’s rights, human rights and electoral reforms, she is the one,” said Mayna. – April 30, 2018.