SHARIAH lawyer Nizam Bashir Abdul Karim Bashir has made a name for himself taking on important constitutional law cases but at age 48, he now feels it is time to bring about change by being involved in politics.

Contesting the Rengit seat in the March 12 Johor elections, Nizam is one of the new faces among Pejuang’s 42 candidates for the state election.

“It is time to be directly involved in the policymaking process.

“In short, if this can be seen as a football game, I want to be a football player and not just a spectator,” Nizam told The Malaysian Insight in an interview.

Nizam has gone to court for cases involving policy and constitutional matters and also actively comments on social media about human rights issues in Malaysia.

Among the cases he has handled is a Muslim couple’s bid against the National Registration Department for their illegitimate child to have the “bin Abdullah” patronym removed from his birth certificate, and to have the father’s name instead.

The case reached the Federal Court, which agreed that “bin Abdullah” should be removed, but did not allow the father’s name to be used.

Nizam was also involved in a case involving the unilateral conversion of two children to Islam by a Muslim-convert parent following a divorce.

He said that through his legal work and his public comments, be they on Twitter or to the media, he hopes to spark dialogue about legal and constitutional issues with policymakers.

“But I felt that any contribution I could make only had effect after the court made a decision.

“I now feel it’s time to try to get involved in policy or decision-making at its early stage,” Nizam said.

The father of seven feels his legal career will be an advantage to him in his bid to be a state legislator.

“I am confident that my experience as a legal practitioner and commentator is an advantage to being elected as an assemblyman.”

His party, Pejuang, founded by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is fielding candidates in 42 seats.

Of this, 10 Pejuang candidates are young professionals, while 54% of all candidates are above 50.

Rengit not easy for Pejuang

Rengit, located some 38km from Batu Pahat, is known as a bargain-hunters’ haven for second-hand goods such as furniture and electrical appliances.

Its electoral makeup comprises 82% Malay and 17% Chinese voters, making the seat a Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold.

The incumbent, BN’s Ayub Jamil from Umno, has held the seat for four terms, but was not fielded in this state election.

Nizam will instead face an Umno heavyweight, party Supreme Council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi, who is also the constituency’s Umno division head and former Batu Bahat MP.

The state polls are seen as Puad’s attempt to bounce back after losing in the 13th general election.

Nizam will also face other candidates, former Senggarang incumbent Khairuddin A Rahim from Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Mohd Huzair Lajis.

“I will try to convince the people of Rengit that the Pejuang manifesto offers what is best for the people here.

“In terms of demographics, it is appropriate for Pejuang to contest here as Malays are the majority community in Rengit which has been represented by BN in the state assembly all this while.

“Pejuang wants to inform the people of Rengit to stand up and give a chance to other parties to bring about improvements,” Nizam said.

The seat is under the Batu Pahat parliamentary constituency, which Nizam is familiar with, as it is where he began his legal career two decades ago.

“I started as a lawyer in Batu Pahat, so this election is like a homecoming.”

Nizam also said he chose to contest under a Pejuang ticket because of its chairman Dr Mahathir’s strong anti-corruption stance.

“Rejecting corruption and remaining principled are both in line with my personal ethos.

“If we do not reject corruption and do not stick to principles, then our future generations will suffer more injustices.” – March 6, 2022.