Until recently, Kuala Kangsar MP Mastura Mohd Yazid stayed pretty much out of public notice following her victory in a 2016 by-election occasioned by her husband’s death. It now appears that a couple of issues have at last sprung up to awaken her political passions.

One of these issues is Malaysia’s intention to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

A few weeks ago, the Sultan of Johor said the Rome Statute would adversely affect the position of the monarchy, Malay rights and the sanctity of Islam. Within days, Mastura expressed similar sentiments, saying Malaysia should maintain what she claimed as its own set of values.

She said these values might clash with human rights values as defined in other cultures. She cited the tolerant attitude of those other cultures towards LGBT activity.

Why the fixation on race, religion and sexuality? The ICC’s focus is on crimes against humanity, such as genocide.

Mastura also said in Parliament that Malaysians were disappointed with Pakatan Harapan (PH) for not “doing its duty” and for its alleged failure to be “fair to everyone”. What does she mean?

Former prime minister Najib Razak will be tried next Wednesday after several attempts to delay his court appearance. She should be pleased that PH has managed to get this far in dealing with the 1MDB issue.

But perhaps she is right. Perhaps the government is not being fair to those in Umno who have been charged with money laundering and criminal breach of trust. Their passports have been impounded, their bank accounts have been frozen and they are barred from travelling abroad. Still, they should be thankful that they are allowed to move around the country to whip up political support.

Mastura also questioned the government’s lack of action over the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim following last November’s rioting at the Seafield temple.

What does she think the government should do? Should it ignore the inquest and arrest all and sundry? Racist and religious sentiments have clouded the vision of many people, with some demanding that minister P Waytha Moorthy be arrested. But he only questioned the police’s apparent lack of a sense of urgency on the night of the rioting.

Last Wednesday, Mastura said she was disturbed about Netflix airing films with sex scenes and LGBT themes. While it is right to show concern over the amount of sex on Netflix, it would be good to know the percentage of the population that has actually been affected. How many Malaysians are Netflix subscribers?

Wouldn’t it be better for her to focus on the issues in her own backyard, such as incest, child marriages, domestic violence, child abuse and the many cases of men abandoning their first wives and children after taking another wife?

There is another issue concerning Mastura which may perplex many working Muslim women in Malaysia.

She did not participate in the Barisan Nasional campaign for the by-election which she eventually won. Her excuse was that she had to observe her “iddah”, which is Arabic for “a period of waiting”. But iddah, according to Muslim jurists, merely refers to the period during which a woman may not remarry following a divorce or her husband’s death. It has nothing to do with mourning or seclusion.

Even if she says she was following Malay and not necessarily Islamic culture, she should have realised that she was not the only working woman to have been widowed. What would she say to other widowed Malay women who can’t afford to stay away from work for 130 days?

Women make up a sizeable segment of the Malaysian workforce. Businesses and services would be incapacitated if Muslim women were to emulate Mastura in observing iddah. And who would earn money to keep the family going?

It would be interesting to know her views on this subject.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.