Talk to your male peers, women told
Published on: Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: The take-home message from Tan Sri (Dr) Rafiah Salim (Women's Leadership Endowment Chair at the Tun Fatimah Hashim Women's Leadership Centre (TFHWLC, UKM) for the women (who attended her Public Lecture on Man Matters to achieve 30pc Women Target in Decision-Making) was: The important thing is to go back to your respective offices and talk to the men. The emphasis is on the fact that this is not a women's agenda but this is a national agenda of getting 30pc women in decision-making positions in Malaysia. It is about the future of our country."It was set and launched by the Prime Minister himself, so it is not an issue of women fighting for their rights but an issue for the nation.
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"And I think the message for the rest of the Sabah women is to make sure they know their rights, make sure that they continue to contribute to nation-building. Don't give up," she advised.According to Dr Rafiah, one of the worst things about Malaysian women is what we call the "leaking pipeline" of the employment process. "At 30 to 35 years, they drop out from their employment, nak jadi (to become) champion mothers. So the country loses as we taxpayers pay for their education. If you go to a public university, you may pay a small fee but the rest is paid for by the Government, by us taxpayers. So we expect a return on that investment and the return is your contribution to the nation," she pointed out, adding this is the realisation of women not just in Sabah but also in the whole country.Asked whether she agreed with the view (expressed by certain quarters) that Malaysian women are fighting a losing battle as far as the 30pc women target is concerned, Dr Rafiah replied : "No, I don't agree.
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To me, it is a battle that we can win. We have seen other countries winning. We have to pick and choose the male leaders that can champion this issue. We are working hard in KL in terms of trying to get this influence through advocacy and target-setting even."We are putting targets for the GLCs (Government-linked Companies), for example, and they have to report this yearly to the Prime Minister."
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While conceding it is an uphill struggle, the UKM Women's Leadership Endowment Chair is confident of achieving the struggle. Replying to another question, Dr Rafiah agreed with a reporter that Malaysia as a whole has not achieved the 30pc target."You are right," she said. "We have sliced it by sector. The government sector is very good. The only concern I have now is the sub-section seems to be failing. That is not enough. The government institutions like universities, Mara, EPF and all that, they don't comply." Earlier, Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affairs, Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid said while the public sector has achieved 33pc in terms of women holding decision-making positions, the same cannot be said of the situation in the private sector."The private sector must intensify its effort in this direction as the Prime Minister had in 2011 announced the same 30pc target policy to be achieved by the private sector in five years' time, that is, this year (2016)," she said.Dr Rafiah concurred with Jainab that a similar public lecture on achieving 30pc leadership position for women should be organised solely for the menfolk with compulsory attendance. "I would love to address a hall full like this of men," the former said to applause. "We will only have women as the organisers." Chairperson of the Sabah Women's Advisory Council (MPWS), Datuk Mariati Robert, who also spoke, attributed the low representation of Malaysian women in politics to their restricted involvement which is confined to playing a role as vote canvasser, hardcore voter or campaign worker for politicians at the grassroots level.Director of the Tun Fatimah Hashim Women's Leadership Centre, Associate Professor Dr Madeline Berma said Sabah and Sarawak are not forgotten in carrying out the Centre's agenda which is a national one. "That is why the public lecture is also held in East Malaysia as part of the programme apart from Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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