Sabah has the best PSC women participation
Published on: Thursday, May 21, 2015
Tawau: As a "think tank" and catalyst for women development, the Sabah Women's Advisory Council (MPWS) has worked hard to increase the representation of women at all levels of decision-making in the State Administration.Speaking at a gathering dubbed "An Afternoon with MPWS" at Hotel Marco Polo here recently, MPWS Chairperson Datuk Mariati Robert reiterated that the Council has sought for more women to sit on the State Public Service Commission (PSC) and City Hall Advisory Panel, among other decision-making bodies."On the record, Sabah has the best women representation in the PSC with three qualified and capable women who are retired civil servants. Some states in the country don't even have a single female member in their respective commissions.
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"We are fortunate to have a Chief Minister who listens and supports our cause for the advancement of women and women empowerment," she said.The event was organised by MPWS Legal Committee headed by Sakaria Semela.On the inception of MPWS in 1988, Mariati, who is the State Attorney-General, said the Council is the "brainchild" of then Minister of Social Services, Datuk Ariah Tengku Ahmad who later became the State's first woman Deputy Chief Minister. "As its name implies, the Council acts as an advisory and consultative body to the State Government. It also serves as an umbrella body for the 70-odd women's organisations in Sabah."From the women and children's perspective, the other six working committees under the Council oversee economics, legal literacy, health, education, social affairs, gender, and women and media respectively.
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Mariati commended members of the Muslim Lawyers Association (AMAL) for volunteering to provide free legal advice on Fridays and sacrificing their time to give free talks on legal literacy to the people in Tawau."Legal literacy is knowledge of law, and knowledge of law is power. It is important for citizens to know and understand what the law has to offer them," she said.
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As a token of appreciation, the MPWS Chairperson presented certificates to the lawyers in acknowledging their role and contributions. "Of the 14 Syarie lawyers practising there, 12 are females, thus far exceeding the 30pc mark," she noted, adding that the gathering was also to enable NGO members to meet and interact with members of MPWS Legal Committee.Among those present were members of the Sabah Muslim Women Lawyers Association (Salwa), Single Mothers Association, Puspanita, Sabah Women Organisation (Pewasa) and Merotai Chinese Women Association, to name a few.Assistant Minister of Resource Development & Information Technology, Datuk Hamisa Samat, who was the guest of honour, urged the Syarie lawyers to go to the rural areas as well to enlighten the people on their basic rights."Rural residents need to be educated on their legal rights in the areas of marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance, among other aspects," she said while offering to make the necessary arrangements for the lawyers to deliver talks to the people there.At the dialogue, ASP Gloria Vincent Balang of the Sexual Women and Children Investigation Division, Sabah Police Contingent, dwelled on the provisions in the Domestic Violence Act, and explained the procedures for lodging a report on domestic violence as well as securing the Interim Protection Order (IPO) and Protection Order (PO).She said the IPO is temporarily issued by the Magistrate's Court to provide immediate protection to the victim while investigation is underway. The Magistrate will decide whether or not to issue a final PO when the case is heard in court.Quoting State statistics, ASP Gloria revealed that there has been an increase in reported cases of domestic violence from 216 in 2012 to 232 in 2013 and 301 in 2014."We believe that awareness of rights from the legal perspective has prompted more victims to come forward and lodge reports," she said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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