Sponsored by

Women power in Malaysian politics

Wednesday, November 17, 1999


In the next two weeks or so, Malaysian women will be wooed perhaps like never before, not quite for matrimony but close enough - a political mandate that can have a significant bearing on their well-being in the next five years. LOKMAN MANSOR and FADZIL GHAZALI report.



ONE of the proud achievements of democracy in Malaysia is the active participation of women voters, who accounted for about 54 per cent of registered voters and 59 per cent of voter turnout in the previous general elections.

Given this large voting block, political parties will try to woo women for their votes in the November 29 general elections.

Most of the major political parties have visibly active women's movements, which will spearhead their respective parties' efforts to get the support of Malaysian women.

Even before the Parliament was dissolved, the role of women was already thrust into the political limelight when Kelantan Menteri Besar and Pas leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat commented that beautiful women should be discouraged from being recruited in government departments.

Needless to say, Nik Aziz's statement drew strong criticism from government leaders to the ordinary women on the street, who described the statement as "demeaning" and "belittling of women".

This is not the first time Pas and Nik Aziz have gotten into trouble over their policies concerning women. Previous policies by the Pas-led Kelantan Government which did not get a warm response include a ban on excessive use of lipstick and separate payment counters for men and women in supermarkets.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders have taken this opportunity to highlight their achievements in women's development, including providing opportunities in education, politics, and business.

"Generally, women's progress in business has been quite encouraging. There have not been many barriers. In fact, there are more opportunities for them to go into business," National Association of Women En-trepreneurs Malaysia (Nawem) president Mariam Sulaiman told Business Times.

She said this is partly due to the fact that women today are more educated, and also have access to various programmes to upgrade or acquire enterprising skills.

The number of female students in institutions of higher learning account for more than 50 per cent of total enrolment. In the professional and managerial category in the public sector, almost 43 per cent are women.

An average of 46 per cent of women aged between 15 and 64 years (the working age population) are employed in the workforce. The number of annual registered female jobseekers has also increased, from 11,611 as at end 1995 to 14,513 in 1998.

Mariam said more women are turning to business because it allows them to balance their careers with their family commitments. They have more control over their time and priorities.

"By having a home-based business, in particular, they get the best of both worlds," she said.

Nawem has a membership of 170 female entrepreneurs from the Klang Valley, Malacca, Pahang, Sabah and Kedah. The association promotes business networking and training, and has organised roadshows to several states as well as trade visits to Vietnam and Cambodia.

The Government's programmes for women's development include a Training Programme for Entrepreneurship and Management of Women, and a Womens Protection Centre for victims of domestic violence, abuse and neglect.

There is also an Economic Support Panel under the Single Parent Programme, to help single mothers by giving them advice, training and assistance to start their own businesses or find employment.

Malaysia is also home to the regional Women's Institute of Management (WIM), whose objectives include to promote the leadership of women in all sectors, and to provide skills training for women to gain access to income.

WIM was recently awarded a two-year contract from the United Nations Population Fund to train women leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia.

In the 1995 general elections, 57 women contested in 56 parliamentary and state seats. Out of these, 38 women contested on the BN ticket, 11 from Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46, the party has since dissolved and most of its members have joined Umno), seven from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), and one from Parti Bersatu Sabah.

Pas has not fielded any female candidates so far because it feels that the political environment is too "harsh" for females, which is ironic considering that about 54 per cent of voters in Kelantan are women.

The irony is not lost on BN leaders, and neither is the reputation of Kelantan women for being very enterprising to supplement their family's income. Kelantan Umno liaison chief Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, formerly S46 president and himself a Kelantan prince, was recently quoted as saying: "The biggest political power in Kelantan is not Pas or Umno, but women power."