LABUAN: The proposal for a university specifically for women is “brainless” or devoid of logic as Malaysia already has a university in almost every state which need hundreds of millions of ringgit to operate.
State PKR Secretary-General Simsudin Sidek said it also doesn’t mean having a university solely for women amounts to empowering them. He was commenting on a report quoting Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad that there are plans for a women only university.
There are now 20 public universities and 50 private universities with 34 university college and 10 foreign university campuses in Malaysia.
Many of these institutions are not operating at full capacity.
“There are many schools in Sabah in dilapidated state where access involved crossing perilous rivers using unsafe methods. This needs to be seriously addressed. Not another university solely for women.”
He said what is more meaningful is to provide more scholarships to deserving female students.
Besides, Simsudin said a university specifically for women also smacks of gender discrimination. He said women who graduate from a mixed gender are more exposed to the real world.
“Let’s hope next they won’t ask for a hospital specifically for women,” he said.
Earlier, a group that champions inclusivity and diversity rejected the idea of a women-only university, which Barisan Nasional is proposing for inclusion in its general election manifesto.
Winner’s Innovative Empowerment Network group operations director Junaida Hamid said the move would be divisive.
“If you want to have diversity and inclusivity, a research centre focused on women’s leadership with representation at all levels within public universities would serve better,” she said.
Junaida said it might not be a strategic use of resources given that inclusivity and alignment were key when approaching matters of diversity.
“More due diligence needs to be done before we start spending taxpayer money,” she said.
“We are after all beholden to the taxpayer to justify the return on investment before we do things that may make all efforts futile.”
She said plenty of opportunities were already available for Malaysian women but added that these needed to be promoted and marketed.
On Wednesday, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin said the proposed university would serve as a dedicated research centre for issues concerning women and would promote women in leadership.
Khaled, who is leading the drafting of BN’s manifesto, said the idea was mooted by Wanita BN.
Former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching said the idea was noble but asked why existing public universities could not take up the task of solving issues concerning women and promoting women in leadership.
“While there are many areas where we need to improve women’s representation, like in politics, what we see in education is a reverse gender gap where there are more women than men in public universities,” she told FMT.
She noted that 61% of students in public universities were female.
“So, frankly speaking, I don’t know the purpose of setting up a women-only public university,” she said.
Teo added that improving existing institutions would be a cheaper option than setting up an entirely new institution.
