DO you remember the viral “listen, listen, listen” video from 2013?
While attending a public university forum, law student K.S. Bawani had taken to the microphone to speak up about the need for free education in Malaysia, in line with her socialist views and student activism.
But as the 23-year-old was doing so, one of the panellists walked down to her and rudely cut her off by repeating the word “listen” at least 12 times, before taking away the microphone and telling Bawani, “when I speak, you listen.”
Sharifah Zohra Jabeen, the head of NGO Suara Wanita 1Malaysia, also told Bawani to “leave the country” if she was not happy here and berated her for having the “least of education” – comments that would eventually lead to widespread support for the young activist.
It has been almost one decade later, and it’s clear that Bawani didn’t take any of Sharifah’s “pearls of wisdom” into consideration… Well, perhaps she has taken one of Sharifah’s tips seriously; to always listen, listen, listen.
Now an experienced lawyer and double-degree holder, Bawani, 36, continues to advocate for better education in Malaysia and stand up for the little guy.
She is a familiar face in Kampar, Perak, where she set up her own legal firm to take on cases for the urban poor, farmers, settlers and workers – a cause that is close to the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy secretary-general’s heart.
As part of her mission to listen to the people and be their eyes and ears, Bawani is standing as a candidate for the Ayer Kuning polls tomorrow (Nov 19), her hometown and one of two state seats in neighbouring Tapah, and hopes to be its next people’s representative.
It’s an uphill battle for Bawani, and PSM as a whole, as the party hardly wins any seats despite always being on the ground and fighting for the people.
In an interview with FocusM, Bawani opened up about her activism journey, the state of education in Malaysia today, her plans for Ayer Kuning and her message to those on the fence about voting for PSM – and armchair critics of the party.
You went viral in 2013 over the “listen, listen, listen” video. At the time, did you ever expect to be as involved in advocacy as you are now and eventually contest in elections?
Actually, I was already involved in activism with PSM, Pemuda Sosialis especially, even before the video went viral in 2013; it’s just that more people got to know me after that.
In fact, many people approached me to stand for the elections that year, mostly from Pakatan Harapan (PH) as I went all out to campaign for them. However, as I was still studying, I made the decision not to contest in any elections at the time (I eventually made my election debut in 2018 when I contested under a PSM ticket in Malim Nawar, one of the state seats under Kampar).
My activism journey started in 2005 when I pursued my first degree in psychology at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). I was already involved in the student movement and later joined Gabungan Anak Muda dan Pelajar from the Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT) marginalised people network. Then in 2008, I became a full-time political secretary at the PSM headquarters.
Sometime in 2011, after being involved with PSM for some time and handling a lot of cases, I personally felt that we had not enough lawyers for the urban poor, farmers, settlers and workers. That is why I ended up studying law in 2011. I eventually opened up my very own legal centre in 2016.
Is education in Malaysia today better or worse off than when you were in university?
Nowadays, the education system is more exam-oriented instead of skills training-based and a lot of courses do not meet the requirements of the job market, making things worse than before.
Besides that, we also see private universities being owned by political and corporate leaders, with some ending up as university chancellors as well. All these rich people are making a profit through three- or four-semester courses.
When I did my second degree in law at a public university, the course fees came up to a little over RM10,000. However, law degrees at private universities cost more than RM200,000 – twenty times more! So, the system needs to change.
PSM believes free education is possible and is a relevant demand for the country; even the Barisan Nasional (BN) 15th General Election (GE15) manifesto states that they will provide free education for bottom 40 income group (B40) students until they go to university.
Education is a basic need and human right. Every student in our country should have access to education. This is our basic demand.
What are your short-term and long-term plans for Ayer Kuning if you win GE15?
My short-term plan is to:
- Bring back local council elections (local councils are essential as they are the ones who can respond to the local people’s immediate issues).
- Raise a motion in the Perak State Assembly to amend the land law and protect farmers and food security (we see so many farmers, the urban poor and settlers being evicted from farmlands and homes. So, the state law needs to be changed to stop this).
- Set up a housing scheme for retired estate workers.
As for my long-term plans, we have many ideas:
What do you have to say to critics and “realists” who argue that PSM should not contest elections as it cannot win on its own or have its candidate elected as MPs or state assemblypersons? Do you agree?
I do not. We will win when people realise that their basic issues can be only solved by left-leaning and anti-neoliberal policies.
The political narrative is currently clouded by racial issues or corruption. Haven’t we experienced how 99% of the rakyat’s issues remained unsolved when parties that campaigned on only an anti-corruption narrative come to power? We need deeper-thinking political representatives.
Income gaps remain, house prices have risen and food security is threatened. Without providing solutions to these core issues, anything else will be mere rhetoric.
You’ve received praise online for declaring your RM992.50 assets. Do you think this makes you more approachable and relatable as a people’s representative – compared to candidates with millions to their names?
Politicians, even though they are from the opposition, belong to the elite, top 20 income group (T20). They might speak about clean politics, anti-corruption and good governance, but they are disconnected from the lives of the common people.
Socialists believe in the principle that elected representatives should be only allowed to live on wages that are close to what the majority of people earn. So, they can only take no more than one-third of their parliamentarian wages.
What is your message to voters who may be on the fence about voting for PSM?
Ayer Kuning has been represented by UMNO/BN for the past 36 years. We feel we can bring different people-oriented policies that no other party pushes for, so give PSM just one chance.
We also notice that it has become a trend that people always look for the logo and vote. We need to break this culture and vote for the candidate who is capable, able to voice out for the people and will challenge the policies which do not support the people. – Nov 18, 2022
All photos are credited to K.S. Bawani’s Facebook page
