DR.pamela
Dr. Pamela Yong proudly represents the Women of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Kota Kinabalu Division. She is an Orthodontist, Social Activist, and mother.
Pamela is working to increase the realization of the rights of people, to elevate the efficiency of the government’s delivery system, to curb corruption and to increase the middle class by strengthening families and women empowerment. She is also vigorously promoting the concept of Nationhood, as she believes the building blocks of change stem from patriotic citizens.
ABOUT
ME!
ABOUT
ME!
Dr. Pamela Yong proudly represents the Women of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Kota Kinabalu Division. She is an Orthodontist, Social Activist, and mother.
Pamela is working to increase the realization of the rights of people, to elevate the efficiency of the government’s delivery system, to curb corruption and to increase the middle class by strengthening families and women empowerment. She is also vigorously promoting the concept of Nationhood, as she believes the building blocks of change stem from patriotic citizens.
#iamdrpamela
#IAMDRPAMELA
IDEALOGY
To sum up ones Political Ideology is not easy. Political Ideology has been described as "the most elusive concept in the whole of social science", so we often use generic titles to broadly describe the collection of ideas of the politician.
I would like to be seen as firstly a realist, and secondly as a progressive politician. I think that in Malaysia today, there are many politicians who clutch onto the past, and who spend their entire political careers trying to bring back elements of our political past. Our country is young, and is developing at a rapid pace. Multicultural Malaysians live in peace and harmony, under a democratic system of government. I see this as a perfect canvas to progress from, and to build on.
I am in no doubt that racially based politics should be weaned off in Malaysia. I hope in the not too distant future, to see a government that has at its core more socialistic, people-centered policies that work from the ground up, that deliver real benefits to people first, and then country.
As fate would have it my political journey has lead me to membership in the MCA. My party’s history in the Malaysian context is long, and we have had our ups and downs. We see strength in unity of all races, and as such have operated in a coalition since the early 50s, even prior to the formation of Malaysia. In recent years, we have lost the support of an overwhelming number of supporters across the country, who are unsatisfied with the party for reasons cited such as, having irrelevant ideology in politics today, being an apple-polisher to UMNO, and to have simply let the Chinese community down.
I fear that this swing of support away from the MCA, favoring other parties, such as the DAP for example, is down to the people looking for a simple solution to a complex problem. This I explain further by drawing an example of Aung San Suu Kyi and her political rise in Myanmar. Her struggle for democracy won her the hearts and minds of not only the Burmese people, but of the International community, winning her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. When she took office as 1st State Counselor of Myanmar in 2015 (a position akin to Prime Minister) people began to realize that their blind love for her and her ideals, masked her hidden flaws, of which we can now clearly see by her government’s persecution of the Rohingya people, and the international criticism she faces today, as a result.
I often think of these examples when looking at the political landscape of Malaysia. We have to be delicate in our approach, submissive at times, and resistant in others. Back in terms of Malaysian politics, certainly in PRU13 the DAP were viewed as a saintly party, their faults, loose policies and fragile coalitions subconsciously ignored by the people, and on the other hand, the faults of the MCA, blown up in opposite proportions.
The MCA is a member of the Barisan National coalition, a multiracial group of parties led of course by UMNO who hold the most seats, and who represents our largest ethnic group. In my view, the persistent attacks of the people on MCA will not reduce the dominance of UMNO, which seemingly is what the opposition want, but rather will strengthen it. In turn it will dilute the influence and representation of other coalition members.
I must emphasize that to make real and lasting change happen in our country, all Malaysians must be well represented in its governance. Policies have to be for all, and it makes sense to have a few guards or watchdogs within the ruling government to ensure that focus is there. The MCA has all the makings of being an effective government with its partners in BN, but we are demonized by the actions of a few individuals in the ruling party. The people cannot punish them, so they punish instead other members of the coalition with smaller representation. This creates a dangerous void, which will quickly be filled. Once our representation is lost, it’s a battle to get back. I sincerely hope that in the coming elections, the people will vote with strategy, and not on emotional sentiments.
POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS
I lead a modest, but comfortable life. I am both family and career orientated, and am stable in both. However, seeing the way our state and country is administered, I feel there is a lot that I can contribute. My works in NGOs have made me understand that many people don’t know, or realise their rights. I can’t stand to see injustice, so I feel the need to stand up for these people.
I will work for the people, not the Government.
I will push the Government in terms of standards and efficiency. There has to be better, more efficient ways of administering government and its delivery system. Rather than wait for others to slowly evolve and make improvements, I’d rather do it myself.
I want to see an end to bureaucracy and inefficiencies within the institutions of government. I see technology as a means to achieve this. As a start, within the civil service I want a reduction of face to face administrative dealings across all departments, to be replaced with online application submissions and the like.
I want young Malaysians to have good understanding of politics. In a recent Youth Survey conducted in Malaysia by the United Nations, we scored very badly in terms of political awareness amongst youths, in comparison to the international standard. I hope to raise political awareness to a level higher than merely looking at drains or rubbish. Policies need to be people-centric that deliver real and sustained benefits to the people. It is not about waiting for handouts from the government, but rather policies that start from the ground up, that enable young people to improve their wellbeing for themselves. The important issue here is the large, ever expanding separation between the top and bottom segments of the population. In other words our middle class is too small, and all the factors that effect this need to be addressed.
Women form 50% of our population. I want to ensure the empowerment of women, to have all the opportunities justly deserved by them available to them.
I want to see an end to race based policies. We may not be there just yet, but with my influence in government, and that of other likeminded, young politicians we will get there. The people will ever more so demand it.
