Dr Lo' Lo' (1957-2011) A shining pearl who showed the way
Article from the sun wed july 20, 2011
by Zakiah Koya
I read this article in the lrt and want to share it.
-Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo' Lo' Mohd Ghazali died on sunday aftera battle with lung cancer.
Lo' Lo' in arabic means pearl and a pearl she was indeed for those who knew her from both sides of the political divide.
-She was not publicity seeker, typically PAS in her exterior and demeanour. When she was first diagnosed as having cancer, I had requested an interview to potray her as a politician who is soldiering on but she the refused. Her close friends told me that she did not want to make her illness public.
-Lo' Lo' first made headlines when she becames the first PAS woman to win a parlimentary seat in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the Titiwangsa constituency, a surprise to the BN as it was unlikely urban voters would vote for a PAS candidate.
-Born and raised in Perak, Lo' Lo' comes from a religious family in Ipoh. Her father was the mufti of Perak. She had s religious education at Klang Islamic College and did her medical studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
-A soft spoken woman witha stern in demeanour, she was always seen at the forefront of the PAS women's wing.
She was much sought after by the media when dealing with opposition issues especially those on women. Many of the media people preferred to speak to her rather than Dewan Muslimat heads on PAS women issues as she was easily reachable. For those of us who worked for the English media, it was easier as she spoke English well.
-She like most PAS women, at most time preferred to stand behind the lines of the leadershipbut she was one of those who knew when to step to the front to get her views heard.
-Just before she died, she was insistent on the development in Kampung Baru, which was under her contituency.
"I remember her coming into the mainstream politics and being a practising doctor, this boosted PAS's image as there where not many professional Muslim women then in PAS, " said Dr Hatta Ramli, a fellow PAS leader.
Hatta also said: She was very consistent as she would remind the leaders to always go for their medical check-ups.
she also said: "as a leaders, we must always be in the best of health", said Hatta a medical doctor himself.
-She was also very active in the Kohilal Medical Centre in Taman Melawati Gombak. She is well known among the Muslim mothers-hundreds of whom gave birth there- who prefferd female doctors to attend them.
-She went away fighting. Her son said, even on the her deathbed, she was thinking of her constituents.
Another Doctor from PAS Dr MariaMahmood said:" She was a woman who challenged the traditional role of women in the party. "She had questioned the traditions such as women leaders not taking to the stage with the men and the PAS male bastion had to give in".
"She also initiated the no smoking campaign to the extent that all the PAS centres were declared no- smoking zones and the leaders who smoked had no choice but to either quit or smoke in the toilet. "
Lo' Lo' leaves behind husband Dr Aminuddin Adbul Hamid Karim, four children and a grandchild.
She will be fondly remembered and deeply missed.
Al-fatihah.
