PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is still far from achieving the target of 30 per cent women representation in government and more needs to be done to address this, says Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.
The Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister (MPIC) said at present, the Dewan Rakyat was made up of only about 15 per cent women from the 222 seats there, while in the Cabinet, only 15.6 per cent of ministers were women.
“It is even lower for deputy ministers, which is only about 10.5 per cent.
“It must be noted that there are 37 female candidates in the Johor state election compared to 28 in the previous polls.
“However, this only accounts for 15.5 per cent of those vying for seats in the Johor legislature.
“It is hoped that in future elections, not just more female candidates will be fielded, but more will go on to win. It is only through political representation that the voices of women can be heard and their plights addressed,“ said Zuraida in a statement in conjunction with International Women’s Day tomorrow,
The Ampang MP, who is also the Council of Malaysian Women Political Leaders (Comwel) president and founder, said this year’s Women’s Day is celebrated under a cloud of global catastrophes like the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Covid-19 pandemic.
“As with any wars or global catastrophes, women and children are among the worst-affected victims.
“The plight of these groups is made worse by the low representation of females in key decision-making processes around the world.
“Female leaders have proven to be able to provide more empathy and relate better to stakeholders in ways that are more conducive in a world driven by strife,“ she said.
She cited New Zealand PM Jacinda Arden’s handling of the terror attacks in Christchurch in 2019 won global admiration with her calm, swift and level-headed response.
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel also showed that leadership has a heart and allows humanity to triumph when she allowed refugees into her country.
“Politics need not always be based on cold unfeeling calculations. In Malaysia, we are now just eight years away from 2030, which is the deadline for us to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which we have committed to.
“One of the SDG goals is gender equality, where women and men shall be given equal opportunities in the political, economic and other fields,“ she added.
In the MPIC, women make up 34 per cent of the board members of the agencies under its purview.
“I will continue to engage with the government on ways to further enhance female participation in politics. This includes looking into quotas for women, such as for candidates in general elections.
“We need to get more women to step up and fill key policy-making and administrative decisions in the country. For this to happen, those concerned need to work closely with the government to give more women a leg-up to climb the political hierarchy,“ she added.
