ACTIVIST lawyer Siti Kasim will continue to serve the people of the Batu constituency even though she did not win the seat in the general election.

She said her service centre will remain open.

“I will continue my service centre as long as there is financing from the public to keep it running. I will continue to assist the Batu people and speak on issues that matter,” she told The Malaysian Insight. 

Siti Kasim said she is organising a fundraising dinner for money to keep the centre open. 

She might even stand again for election if her health permitted, she said.

“But I might have other plans for the next five years. So watch this space. I would like to contest here again as I like the area and I live close by. It will be easier to serve the constituency.”

In a 10-way fight for the Batu seat in GE15,  Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate P. Prabakaran won by a majority of 22,241 votes. 

Siti Kasim only managed 653 votes.

She said Prabakaran won because people voted for the party. 

This, she said, was because the people wanted PH to win enough seats to govern.

“The majority of the people voted because of the logo. Perikatan Nasional (PN) got a lot of support from the Malays.

“But I prefer Barisan Nasional to PN, PAS as they are extremists who use religion (to political gain).” 

Siti Kasim said she was aware from the start that her chances were small because she was up against the big boys.

“The only reason I ran was to highlight my manifesto, which was for separation of religion from government and politics. I wanted to create awareness of that.

“I even said that I would be lucky to even to get back my deposit. I was realistic about it.”

Siti Kasim said the most challenging aspect of her campaign was getting the voters to understand why religion shouldn’t mix with politics. 

“That is the real problem… the use of religion (for political purposes). We can see it being played out in front of us, how these religious parties are using religion. 

“They are saying that if we elect non-Malays like PH or parties that have a mixture of races, the rights of Malays will be taken away, the Muslims will have to wear skirts or will not be allowed to pray.

“But all that is not true. This was sold to the Malays and some bought it.

“This is why I felt that if we don’t tackle the issue of the use of religion in politics, the country can’t move forward.”

She said another challenge was her lack of campaign funds.

“I didn’t have enough funds for banners, flags and to pay for more volunteers. 

“I had a good set of volunteers but it was not enough to reach out (to all the voters). But it was a very good experience for myself and the team.”

She wished Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government well because the country needs a stable government. 

“Unity government or not, (it will work) as long as the government is stable and does the right thing.

“(It must) focus on revamping the education system, stop divisive politics and address cost of living issues.” – December 5, 2022.