RETIRED civil servant and long-time MCA member Margaret Kung is a staunch supporter of Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Unfazed by the ongoing spat between Nazri and her party leaders over business tycoon Robert Kuok, the 73-year-old told The Malaysian Insight she will be campaigning for Nazri in the next elections.

“He is very sincere and kind-hearted. He will always try his best to help the people,” Kung said about the five-term member of parliament in Padang Rengas, northern Perak. 

Part of the fledging Padang Rengas Aunties Club, Chinese Malaysian homemakers like Kung in the rural constituency have become regular weekend guests at Nazri’s official residence in Kuala Kangsar.

An Umno Supreme Council member, Nazri is banking on the Aunties Club to win back Chinese votes in the 14th general election that must be held by August.

Individuals like Kung are crucial to propping up Nazri’s support as the latter’s open feud with MCA threatens to jeopardise the community’s support for Barisan Nasional.

A brainchild of Nazri, the three-year-old social club organises free local trips about twice a year for women in his constituency.

It also holds events for the poor and needy in the Chinese new villages around Padang Rengas.

“We have a lot of sponsors. We have been to Bentong (Pahang) and Johor. The accommodation and food are free. There is no restriction. Anyone can join,” said Kung.

A space for women

With nearly 30,000 registered voters, Padang Rengas is 75% Malay, Chinese (15%) and Indian (10%). 

Most of the constituents in the rural seat are rubber tappers and smallholders.

Nazri defended the seat against PKR but with a slim majority of 2,230 votes in 2013 and 1,749 majority in 2008.

The Umno veteran said Padang Rengas MCA boycotted and campaigned against him in the 2013 elections. 

However, with the support of the Aunties Club, the Padang Rengas MP feels he does not need MCA to court Chinese voters in the constituency.

He came up with the idea of the club as he noticed the women were usually left out from state programmes.

On Friday, the Aunties Club hosted a Chinese New Year dinner for about 500 people in Kg Stesen, Kuala Kangsar.

Sponsored by Klang Valley businessmen close to Nazri, villagers who won the lucky draw took home RM200 ang pows.

While local Gerakan leaders were present at the annual dinner, local MCA leaders were absent. 

“When this aunties’ club was set up, women who didn’t know each other started becoming friends. They exercise together, organise all sorts of programmes, including birthday celebrations, gotong-royong,” Nazri told The Malaysian Insight.

“When I’m here at weekends, I told them they could come and relax at my house. They would come like a group of gangsters in their motorcycles,” Nazri said to laughter from the crowd.

Padang Rengas Aunties Club adviser, Teng Kok Weng, a 56-year-old businessman from Kg Stesen, is one of the few men in the women-only club with more than 600 members. 

“These aunties have never been to Parliament or Putrajaya in their whole life. They are very happy. They thanked us for taking them on these trips.

“Their sons thanked us because they are working outstation and cannot be home to take their mothers out.”

He said the club also collects donations for the sick and poor in the kampung. They also organise gotong-royong to help senior citizens clean their houses.

Other BN component parties have now requested their help to set up similar aunties’ clubs in Taiping and Ipoh.

“We must appreciate such a minister. He has no airs. We’ll never have another good minister like him,” Teng said of Nazri. – March 4, 2018.