Syerleena Abdul Rashid
Syerleena Abdul Rashid is a Malaysian politician and a member of the Democratic Action Party, which forms part of the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition. She is currently the elected State Assemblyman for Seri Delima in Penang. Syerleena had previously been appointed as a Councillor of the Penang Island City Council, serving for over three years between 2015 and 2018.
In addition to her involvement in politics, Syerleena had been a columnist for The Malaysian Insider and contributed extensively in various online news portals. She was also formerly a member of Aliran, a local non-governmental organisation, as well as an anti-human trafficking movement.Education
Syerleena was a Graphic Communication graduate from School of Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.Political career
Syerleena joined the Democratic Action Party in 2013, after being encouraged by her associate, Chris Lee Chun Kit. Both Syerleena and Chris were subsequently appointed as councillors of the Penang Island City Council, with Syerleena taking office in the local government in January 2015.
On 26 April 2018, prior to the Penang state election that year, Syerleena stepped down as a Councillor of the Penang Island City Council and was selected to contest the state constituency of Seri Delima. She faced a three cornered tussle for the constituency, and had to endure personal attacks and harassment by her opponents, especially Barisan Nasional extremists from the United Malays National Organisation. In spite of these, Syerleena prevailed in the election, winning by a margin of 13,211 votes.
Syerleena continued to face harassment by Muslim extremists after the election. In July 2018, she received a death threat accompanied by two slanderous messages, accusing her of wanting to weaken Islamic institutions and make Christianity the country's official religion.Election results
