Everywhere Normala Sudirman goes, heads turn for a glimpse of the former teacher, fielded by PAS to take on BN giant Umno in the by-election for northern Johor's Tenang seat.

So mesmerising is the demure Normala that local villagers cannot stop taking pictures of her, even when she was eating meehoon during a walkabout in a Felda settlement several days ago.

There was no place she would not go to, and very little she will not do; even distributing Chinese New Year cards with a picture of her wearing a ‘halal' cheongsam - loose fitting and with long sleeves, with her tudung.

Among the few things she will not do is to shake the hands of the male constituents - something that has pricked the fancy of her BN opponents.

Conservative Muslims subscribe tNONEo the belief that shaking hands with non-mahram (unmarriageable kin) is prohibited - but MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek and even Gerakan Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe have ridiculed Normala for this, pointing to it as proof that PAS was heading towards Islamic theocracy.

Despite the initial hail of brickbats and criticism, Normala (right) - whom locals call Cikgu Mala - remains a picture of calm, brushing off the flak with the belief that God is in her team.

"So far, I don't think that there are challenges that are too big, except for this negative perception raised against me.

"But I think that if I'm correct, God will be on my side. And if I am constant, and we (PAS) stay on the side of the truth, God will protect us," she said in her first media interview since nomination day.

'Women stronger than men'

But it was evident that she had first to battle the perception that she could do less, being a woman.

Even the questions directed at her were all too familiar for the gender bias, such as, "What does your husband think of your candidacy?", "How will you take care of your children?" to the blunt "Is being a woman a weakness when it comes to getting votes?"

Such concerns still touch a nerve among voters in this semi-rural Johor constituency, where agriculture is the main economic activity.

"People have asked me, ‘what can a woman do?' Well to me, that is a mindset that's just not right.

"Although women are soft-spoken, we can sometimes be stronger than men in our stand and principles. Some have said that the female aura is stronger than the male's," she said, adding that she only got by with two or three hours of sleep these days, but felt just as fresh.

However, in the course of the 40-minute interview, the Johor PAS deputy commissioner had to interject several times when questions became ‘tough' - which rookie candidates in by-elections commonly face.

'Islamic state an old issue'

Staying firm and articulate, she responded to what she could offer the 14,753 voters of Tenang, saying the Johor state assembly, where there are only six Pakatan representatives against BN's 50, needs a stronger voice.

NONE"Apart from the local issues, we need to have a better check-and-balance in the state assembly," Normala said.

Asked about the issue of the Islamic state, she took the official line of the top PAS leadership to stay low and avoid too much explanation.

"We want to promote a welfare state, with justice and respect for all races. But anyway, our PAS leadership has explained that... it is an old issue," she said.

MCA has been harping on PAS' move to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state, going to the extent of printing leaflets and bulletins depicting gory images of stoning and capital punishment under Islamic law.

But whether it is a factor with the 47 percent Malay electorate remains to be seen.

Normala is taking on the BN's Mohd Azahar Ibrahim, a former assistant district officer who hails from the local elite Umno family. The Tenang folk go to the polls on Sunday.

VIDEO | 12.18 mins