Agnes Shim makes history as first Sabah MCA woman candidate

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah MCA's first woman candidate Datuk Agnes Shim Tshin Nyuk is keen to contribute to the Luyang community.

She has been quietly giving of her time for a couple of decades in a variety of causes for society.

In her 25 years of serving the community, Sabah MCA's first woman candidate has focused a lot on issues involving women empowerment.

Barisan Nasional's Luyang state seat candidate is a first-time contestant, banking on her social experience to compete against a field of three other contenders, two of whom are political heavy weights.

The fight for the Luyang seat is seen as a tough tussle between Shim, incumbent Melanie Chia of SAPP and DAP's Hiew King Chieu, the former MP who moved to the state seat from his Kota Kinabalu parliament seat.

Rounding off the contest for this Chinese majority seat of 20, 119 voters is STAR's Jafery Jomion.

Chia won the seat on a BN ticket when SAPP was still a Barisan component party in 2008 with a majority of 1,502 votes.

As a social worker, Shim said she would be able to serve the people better if she makes it to the state assembly.

"I have served in many NGOs and various charities but I still think I haven't done enough for the community.”

“If voters give me the mandate, I will be able to serve the people on a higher level," she said as she campaigned through the constituency using personal touch to reach out to voters.

Although it is her maiden battle, Shim expects her deeds to speak for her. “People have called me even in the wee hours of the morning to help them with their problems and I've never ignored a single one. This, I feel, show that I am up for the job,” she said.

She vows to be even more dedicated in helping raise the standard of living among residents there who are from various income levels.

“Existing benefits offered by the BN government such as BR1M and Klinik 1Malaysia can help me reach out further to help more people,” she said.