Get To Know Our Wakil Rakyat - YB Shuhaimi Shafiei

Copy bulat-bulat from The Star which ran an interview with our Wakil Rakyat, YB Shuhaimi Shafiei. The article was published on 17th April 2008. Well, let's get to know our YB better ........

Full Name: Shuhaimi Shafiei / Age: 40

Party: PKR

Marital status: Married with a seven-year-old son

Hometown: Perak

Currently residing in: Klang

Education: Diploma in Computer, Accounting and Administration; Diploma in Manufacturing Management; will be taking Degree in Political Science in Universiti Malaya this July

Profession: Senior production manager (he has resigned to focus on his political career)Constituency: Sri Muda (under the Kota Raja parliamentary constituency)

Contact details: srimuda2008@gmail.com; (O) 03- 5122 1250, (F) 03-5122 1550 (readers can contact him at these numbers after Apr 20)

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FOR first-term Sri Muda assemblyman Shuhaimi Shafiei, good time management is very important as he juggles his time between his family and his political career.

“If we are in politics, most of our time will be spent outside for sure. But I make sure that I spend quality time with my family every weekend,” said the soft-spoken Kota Raja PKR vice- chairman.

“I take my wife and son shopping and watch movies once in a while,” he said.

Shuhaimi added that his wife was initially not so supportive of his intention of going into politics.

But after much explanation on his fight for the future of the next generationhis wife accepted his decision with an open heart.

The biggest challenge for him now is to make the residents keep their confidence towards the new leadership.

“More often than not, the residents want immediate action taken to solve their problems. But we need time to conduct detailed research before taking any action,” he said.

“I really hope that they will be patient and do not ask for changes overnight which are impossible,” he added.

StarMetro: Do you blog?
Shuhaimi: Yes, my blog address is http://srimuda.blogspot.com/. I started it before the polling day and I make it a point to update my blog every day. I post entries about my activities and photos. I plan to upload videos taken during the campaign period too, to share with the readers the overwhelming response we received from the people.

StarMetro: How much time do you spend on the computer each day?
Shuhaimi: About half an hour to 45 minutes to read and reply emails, update my blog and read articles by Datuk A. Kadir Jasin, Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad and Hishamuddin Rais.

StarMetro: Do you enjoy reading?
Shuhaimi: Yes, I always have four to five books to read at the same time. I read for 10 to 15 minutes before I doze off each night. I enjoy books on politics and strategies, such as Anwar Ibrahim's Gelombang Kebangkitan Asia, Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People and Dr Syed Husin Ali's Dua Wajah Tahanan Tanpa Bicara.

StarMetro: What languages do you speak?
Shuhaimi: Bahasa Malaysia, English and a little bit of Bahasa Banjar (a branch of Malay language widely spoken among villagers). I am not a Banjar but I was surrounded by friends who spoke this language in school.

StarMetro: What kind of music do you listen to?
Shuhaimi: I like slow-paced music and my favourite musicians are Kitaro and Kenny G. I often listen to their music when I need to think of solutions for my problems.

StarMetro: Do you play any musical instrument, dance or sing?
Shuhaimi: When I was young, I used to play traditional musical instruments such as maracas and tabla for a band called Kumpulan Sri Melor Klang. We often had recordings in a radio station for a programme called Asli Rama back then. I also know a little about guitar. During the campaigning period, there were times where we started off our ceramah with musical performances to pull the crowd. The response was good and I also hit the drums a little to show my talents (laughs).

StarMetro: What is your contribution to environmental conservation?
Shuhaimi: I don't have any specific contributions in particular but I am into gardening. I have planted chilli, turmeric, lemongrass, putat and other herbaceous plants in the land behind my house. I like to eat ulam and I like to pluck them fresh from my garden before mealtime.

StarMetro: What is your hobby?
Shuhaimi: I like to collect traditional weapons such as keris and I have been stopped at immigration a few times for bringing in the items into the country. So now whenever I go overseas, I have to declare my intentions with Bukit Aman Police Headquarters. I have about 50 items in my collection now. I also like to collect foreign coins and money.

StarMetro: Are you into football?
Shuhaimi: Yes, I was a football player for my primary school. I wouldn't say no to any invitations to play football. Although I have not played for a very long time already but I would say that my skills are still with me (laughs).

StarMetro: What other sports do you play?
Shuhaimi: Badminton, tennis and golf. I started golf four years ago due to work commitments but I must admit that I am not really into it. Nonetheless, I still play regularly at the driving range at Kelab Rekreasi Tentera Udara so that I will not lose my swing.

StarMetro: Got a nickname?
Shuhaimi: When I was young, my family called me Adik Mat, now my younger siblings call me Abang Chik, as I am the second son in the family.

StarMetro: Any phobia?
Shuhaimi: Yes, of toad. A toad decided to stay in my bathroom once. Whenever I caught it and threw it out, it would come back within four or five days. One day I saw it looking at me while I was taking a bath; I got fed up and covered it with a coconut shell. I totally forgot about it and went back to my hometown for a week. When I got back and lifted the shell all that was left was the toad's skeleton. I felt so bad and thus this phobia for toads now.

StarMetro: Favourite actresses? Why?
Shuhaimi: Catherine Zeta Jones. To me, she always appears as a caring and loving wife, who tries her very best to help her husband in her movies (laughs).