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Women in Malaysian Islamist Politics 183

Dr Mariah. is is ironic, because it was Mariah’s popularity—resulting in
a record-breaking victory in 2013—that convinced the Amanah leadership
that Kota Raja was the ultimate ‘safe seat’ for their president. Dr Mariah did
not object. She had even suggested it herself, contemplating that a step down
might be good for her after ten years in parliament. Seri Serdang, meanwhile,
was a seat she was con dent to win (rightly so, it turned out). She did, however,
acknowledge that replacing her in the more prestigious parliamentary seat
of Kota Raja sent a bad message to the members of the new party’s active
women’s branch, Wanita Amanah, which she led. While the reluctance to eld
women in safe or high-status seats constitutes a real constraint—a point I will
return to below—it is important also not to be overly xated on numbers
and outcomes. Candidates who lose their bid, or who are ‘demoted’, are not
necessarily without in uence and, as I will show, there is value in re ecting on
their campaigns and strategies.

Figure 9.3 Ustazah Nuridah Mohd speaks to voters. Subang Indah,
Selangor, 30 April 2018 (personal collection of David Kloos).

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