My name is Faiq
and this is my quest to find the 'Berlian Sungai'.
With the wisdom passed down from Namron,
and the dancing ritual of my kin,
I provoke the 'Berlian Sungai' to show itself.
(Inaudible)
No.
Nope.
What is this?
Look to the sky above, a shining star.
Wait for the woman in blue.
I seek forgiveness from Allah.
As I live and breathe...
Nurul Izzah?
That's the truth.
It is I.
I have so many questions to ask you.
Do you mind answering them?
I don't mind answering your questions.
Follow me.
Okay.
Here, take a seat, please.
Okay.
I have a few questions.
God willing, sure.
How's it going?
It's okay. Praise God.
It's been quite stressful but...
there's a lot of glimmers of hope.
Glimmers of hope?
Yeah. Day to day, there are positive moments.
In your personal life or in your professional life?
Oh, both at the same time.
Every moment, you know...
when someone crafts a smile, or you have a good conversation,
or you excel in a particular effort,
it's all intermingled right?
Personal, as well as the work life.
Did you foresee that you would be stepping into...
Politics?
I think I was trying to steer clear from it.
Reformation! Reformation! Reformation!
I was trying to escape, I think.
So the safest route was to pursue engineering.
The choice was actually a reaction to go the opposite way?
You brought up a good point.
I didn't think of it that way. But maybe.
You only see these things when you circumspect your life.
So when was that moment when you thought that
this is what you wanted to do or what you needed to do?
I think after all these years, it just clicked.
I had to do this.
If you feel so strongly about realizing a vision,
then you ask yourself,
"what are you gonna do about it?".
So delve, I did.
And by '08, I contested in active politics.
Was there a sense of fear in making that decision?
Always.
How did you navigate that?
Through support from your family? Or support from...
Yeah but I was very indignant.
I didn't want it to be my father's decision.
I didn't want it to be a decision I made because of my father.
You see, I love my father but...
it's very important because once you're involved in the movement...
then you're a child of the movement.
At the time, I had a few friends
who wanted to run together.
We made decisions based on the next steps and phases.
But fear, of course.
Fear of wanting to succeed.
Or the uncertainty.
Usually, if you contest in opposition politics, you lose in the elections.
I mean... right?
So, you don't want your sense of self-worth to be affected by the elections.
But I think one thing that helped me overcome that fear..
was when they broke into my father's house.
That night in '98. Police. Machine-guns.
Were you in the house when that happened?
Yeah, we were.
My sister, my brother had guns pointed at them.
I feel that when you go through that moment... it's like "never again".
That helped sometimes to land some courage...
in times of fear.
I'm glad. I have no regrets. Praise God.
I mean it is important. Because maybe some would've asked,
"would you have wanted to be an engineer?"
I don't think anybody kind of like thinks that,
"Ah.. I should've been an engineer".
Well... I would've enjoyed being in Shell.
Probably... Not in these times.
You're right. Absolutely.
You're quite wise yourself.
We're sharing.
Right! Knowledge is important.
Especially in the middle of the jungle, like this.
When you go into parliament, do you have a routine?
Because there is a lot of really misogynistic things that have been said by the 'members'.
Exactly.
So, do you have to brace yourself every morning and like...
"I'm gonna have to be dealing with these..."
Brother Faiq, there are actually many challenges that are faced by womenkind.
Like swatting away a fly in the most gentle way possible
without jumping or screaming.
Composure.
Composure! At all times.
I think our problem is, when it happens, we don't denounce it sufficiently.
Good, you're also regaining your composure. Very well.
Is there somebody you wanna punch where you work?
All the time. All the time.
Like, "enough talk, let's just..."
Well, no. Because then I'm gonna succumb to their level.
I can't take it. It's one of those things...
I always feel that, people vote for you for a reason.
People look up to you for a reason so...
It's not always fun...
but it helps me keep myself in check.
Like when I'm angry... I really miss my father.
and I wish there wasn't so many challenges put our way
but I feel that we have a huge fighting chance.
There's so much we can do...
and that's why I always believe in being an incorrigible optimist.
Because that helps put things in order and that helps you from punching anyone
There was a group that forced me to go through the river...
and be one with the mosquitoes.
Did I punch them? I did not!
I wonder who those people are...
I embraced it and I tried to enjoy it.
Well, there you go, Faiq.
What do you think about the current young generation?
The millennials. What are your impressions of them?
Boisterous, they have their focus and interests
and volunteerism, activism.
I think they're very influential by virtue of their control over social media.
They have become a force to contend with.
Are you woke?
I have no idea what that means.
Do you know what dabbing is?
Not really.
It's when the kids do that.
Uh-huh.
Can you do it with me?
Umm... Okay.
Dab.
You gotta cover your face.
Really?
Yeah.
Like that.
Okay.
Yup... she's definitely woke.
There's a lot of compromise that needs to be made when you work in politics.
How do you choose what to compartmentalize?
Bearing in mind, because I also wanna be specific about this...
because your party now is affiliated with BERSATU.
Yeah. It's not an easy decision.
Since 1998, there's been a dark period of history...
with the ex-Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Some have compared him to a ruthless pharoah.
Yes, because of anti-democratic sentiments.
But my father always taught me,
"You don't hate the person," I cannot say this enough, "you hate their actions".
We also felt that it wasn't just about us. It wasn't just about freeing him even. It was more than that.
I mean, at the end of the day,
you have to prioritize the national agenda.
Not your personal suffering. Not your personal sentiments.
I think that is the test!
If you say you want to be a public servant,
well, it fell on my lap right?
"You gonna do it or not, brother?"
I like reciting this poem;
"If we plant kindness, even those who are evil can turn to good."
Whatever it is Faiq, just be good...
and let conscience be your guide.
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