THE year 2019 would surely be remembered as the year when women led the way; whether in sports, politics, administration of justice, law enforcement or national unity.
This year marked the graceful retirement of Datuk Nicol David from competitive squash. Her seamless transition from the world’s greatest female squash player to the role of an enabler, motivator, ambassador and most of all, a young “elder stateswoman” of her sport may be taken as a guide to those who overstay their positions on the mistaken belief that they and only they can “do the job”.
On the political front female ministers have also shown the way. Teresa Kok showed the rest on how to focus on one’s own ministry; to understand the challenges and to attempt to overcome the obstacles in its path. It was not for her to wander into and interfere with the portfolios of her Cabinet colleagues.
Acquiring a home has been a great challenge to Malaysians generally. A roof over one’s head was becoming increasingly unattainable while housing developers were making inordinate profits. For long housing developers have been abusing the phrase “affordable housing”. That catch-phrase had been used even where prices were well out of the reach of the common man. I recall in one instance where houses costing RM600,000 were described as “affordable housing”.
Into this scenario marched Zuraida Kamaruddin. In one fell swoop, the ceiling price on “affordable housing” was brought down to RM300,000. She caused shivers within the developers’ community when she stated that it was possible to provide reasonable houses at not more than RM150,000. Zuraida was not shooting in the dark. She knew what she was talking about. She knew that most state governments owned tracts of land on which really affordable houses could be constructed. This would be possible if state governments took a more “egalitarian” rather that “business-like” approach in their dealings. Lamentably, many state governments conduct their affairs as if they were profit-oriented bodies.
Come May 2019 our first female chief justice was appointed. The legal fraternity welcomed her with joy and great relief; we just could not take anymore of the “same old”, “same old”. Even from her days in the High Court, Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat displayed the qualities of judicial courage and independence, reminiscent of a forgotten era in our administration of justice.
At her elevation, Tengku Maimun remarked that she wished to improve the image of the judiciary. Truth be told, she does not have to do much except to continue to be herself. As they say, morale filters from the top. It would surely take some time but given the probable length of her tenure, the administration of justice in our country is headed for better days.
To top it all, for the first time we now have six women at our apex court. They have already begun deciding cases without fear or favour; a clear example being Justice Nalini Pathmanathan’s lucid judgment on the extent and ambit of “the public servant”.
The appointment of Latheefa Koya as head of MACC was yet another high-water mark. Her detractors tried very hard to derail her; finding fault with the manner of her appointment right down to the manner she wore the rank badges and ribbon bars. The nation was not impressed with her critics and the tough as nails Latheefa was undaunted. Her public pronouncements on the war on corruption, just by themselves, sent shivers down the spines of the guilty. However, it must be admitted that Latheefa has a most unenviable job. It is not easy to undo a culture of corruption that has ingrained itself into the national psyche over the last three decades. Despite the massive challenges and knowing that the ordinary reasonable Malaysian is with her, Latheefa has continued in her mission with fearless consistency, in a manner and style that has put other enforcement bodies in the shade.
It is suggested that Latheefa may want to persuade the government to pass legislation in the nature of the British-like Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) to compel disclosure of unexplained wealth, where the issuance of such order would have to be by the High Court and the subsequent seizure of the unexplained assets, if at all, would also have to be by way of a court order. The UWO has two great advantages – the information obtained in the context of an UWO cannot be used in criminal proceedings and in any event, at all stages there would be judicial supervision.
I would be remiss if I fail to mention Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali in this appreciation of women leaders. Though she had served as wife of the prime minister before, some did not fully appreciate her role then. It was not our fault; we did not know how bad it could get. Our recent experiences have thought us well. Siti Hasmah has reminded, indeed re-educated, everyone of the dignity and respect of the person (not “office”) of the spouse our prime minister. Her leadership lessons have not been lost on us.
Finally, the icing on the collective cake of all Malaysians must surely be Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah. She has been a beacon of hope.
Her frank sharing of her Chinese heritage was so courageous that it must have irked those seeking to divide and rule. Her simple, down-to-earth style, from her dance moves through her Twitter quotes to her train ride, has earned the affection and respect of most Malaysians.
I dare say that if a vote is taken, now, our Queen would easily be “the best loved Malaysian”.
This song of praise would not be complete if I did not address the leaders of my gender. Other than very few exceptions, our male leaders have failed our nation miserably. There is so much to be done to improve the state of our nation but positive energies seem to be expanded on negative undertakings. The real state of our nation needs no reminder nor repetition.
Whilst, this is not designed as a battle between sexes but the Brotherhood has to get its act together and show greater will and desire to keep up with the Sisterhood.
Happy New Year Malaysia.
Watson Peters has been a practicing advocate and solicitor for more than three decades. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
