PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who is trying to make a return as Wanita Umno president after a four-year absence, says she wants the movement to rise like a “phoenix”.
The 69-year-old said it was not really a comeback, as she had never left in the first place.
“I never left the party, and I never left Wanita Umno.
“I have always been following and watching from the outside, but the last few years when I was not holding any position, it has been really good for me because I could see Umno and Wanita Umno with different eyes,” she said.
Shahrizat said her decision to return – she submitted her nomination paper yesterday – was not something done at the spur of the moment.
Members had been coming to her for the past year, asking for her to return to lead the wing.
However, she only made the decision this week.
“This is a very exciting challenge. It is an adrenaline-gushing kind of thing, and the people have high hopes,” she told The Star.
Shahrizat had held the post for nine years since 2009, when she beat then-incumbent Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.
She admitted she was excited about returning at a time when political dynamics have changed and a unity government is now in power.
Shahrizat, who stepped down as Wanita chief in 2018, described the last few years as her “sabbatical”, which allowed her the opportunity to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the party.
The former women, family and community development minister says the sabbatical had allowed her to gain a better perspective of what is required not only for Wanita Umno but for Umno itself.
She now had a better idea of what the rakyat want from Umno, she said.
On her campaign against her successor, Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad, she said she believed everyone had an equal chance in the contest.
She also said she had been telling her supporters to steer clear of personal issues and run a clean campaign.
“It is not about the other side. I told those who are supporting me, let’s talk about how we can bring Wanita Umno forward and regain its position of dignity and respect,” she said.
“I want Wanita Umno to rise again like a phoenix.”
Shahrizat, who sent in her nomination paper through her media officer Suhana Zam at the Umno headquarters yesterday, said she was aware of sentiments on the ground.
“(Back in 2018) I felt like giving way to someone younger because I understood party politics, so I handed over with grace. But now there is a contest,” she said.
She said she had been happily “doing her own thing” until members approached her over the last year to make the comeback.
Asked what challenges she would face should she win, she said there are bound to be challenges in both politics and real life.
“It is how you navigate the challenges that is important for me. ‘Wanita Umno’ are the mothers of the country, not just the party. I think it is very important for the leader to harness this strength,” she said.
“We will set the proper vision and mission so we are relevant.
“We now have a woke society. How does Wanita Umno remain relevant in this woke society and also in this unity government?” she said, noting that the party now had to work with once-political foes, Pakatan Harapan.
“So we must have some set of skills now to be able to work with DAP, with PKR, and with Amanah,” she added.
