By Sulyn Chong
SHAH ALAM, Nov 14 — The fate and role of women in shaping the future of Malaysia will be marginalised under a Perikatan Nasional (PN) Federal administration, said the campaign secretariat for Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
It cited the recent example of Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, who was reported as saying that women are ineligible to be MPs of rural areas, like the constituency of Sik in the state.
Subsequently PN Gombak parliamentary candidate for the ongoing 15th general election and the coalition’s election director, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, was also reported to have defended Sanusi’s statement.
“The act of supporting such a statement is an act that disregards and degrades the role of women in building the nation, as well as an insult to all women,” said the secretariat in a statement.
Since Amirudin’s appointment as Menteri Besar of Selangor in 2018, many women of caliber have been given the responsibility to lead subsidiaries in the state government.
In addition, the secretariat said the performance of Selangor state government departments and its subsidiaries have not been affected at all but instead has even improved since 2018.
“In Selangor, two District Officers including the one for Gombak, two local authority members, and several Departments Heads in the state civil service are women who work with full dedication, above and beyond the call of duty, especially during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic and flooding disasters last year.
“Not only that, Malaysia even made history when Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was named as the first female Deputy Prime Minister in 2018.
“Furthermore, we also have many other women who are responsible as main leaders in their professional fields, like the Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Yunus, as well as several Chief Secretaries of ministries who have contributed a lot to the nation,” it said.
In response to Sanusi’s statement against women and Azmin Ali’s defense of it, the secretariat said this clearly shows Azmin’s line of thought, which discriminates and belittles the dignity of women and indicates an antiquated line of political thought.
“For Gombak, we require a candidate who will persevere and fight for the dignity of women, empowering their roles in determining the direction of both Selangor and Malaysia.
“This has been proven in Selangor for 14 years, and will be proven again if Pakatan Harapan is trusted by women and all citizens of Malaysia to govern in Putrajaya,” it said.
