Sabah Women’s Affairs Department: Outreach event draws 307 women
Published on: Wednesday, May 17, 2023
By: Clarence Dol
Maria (fifth from right), Hjh Haslina (centre) taking pictures with others at the ceremony.
RANAU: Some 307 women participated in the Outreach Santuni Wanita Programme organised by the Sabah Women’s Affairs Department (JHEWA) held at the Ranau Community Hall on Monday.The programme with the theme “Merakyatkan Perkhidmatan Ke Arah Kesejahteraan Wanita” aims to give the public an opportunity to obtain various services from government departments such as JHEWA as well as agencies involved in the relevant State Assembly area.ADVERTISEMENT
The Minister of Community Development and People’s Well-being (KPMKR), Datuk James Ratib said this outreach programme is a continuation of the new initiative of a high-impact project in the human capital and people’s well-being sector.
This, he said, is in line with KPMKR’s direction for the year 2021 to 2025 under the Sabah Maju Jaya Plan (SMJ).
“This programme is a platform for service delivery and knowledge-sharing in JHEWA Sabah’s efforts in particular, to empower women and society in general to continue to be relevant and meet current needs.
“As a manifestation of the State Government’s commitment to the sustainability of women and the community in Sabah, the women’s outreach programme made history in Ranau.ADVERTISEMENT
“The involvement of the three State Assembly constituencies, namely Kundasang, Karanaan and Paginatan, should be commended especially to the UPPM and grassroots leaders for successfully bringing such a beneficial programme to the community,” he said.
James, who is also Sugut Assemblyman, said this in text of his speech read by KPMKR Deputy Permanent Secretary, Maria David in conjunction with the programme’s opening ceremony.
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He also thanked the organisers consisting of JHEWA, Ranau District Office, UPPM N36 Kundasang, N37 Karanaan and N38 Paginatan.
He added the programme is so significant when throughout its duration, JHEWA reached out to almost 2,346 people in 20 State Assembly areas.
“Every day we see in the press many issues related to divorce, fights over custody of children and so on, which are always cited as a sign of weakness in family institutions in Malaysia.
“Thus, this programme is one of the government’s efforts to curb this problem from continuing to engulf our society while assisting with legal advisory services through legal clinics and legal literacy slots that have been conducted.
“I am honored by the initiative of JHEWA who worked hard to ensure the survival of this kind of community programme both in terms of entrepreneurship, women’s development and law,” he said.
Meanwhile, JHEWA Sabah Director, Hajah Haslina Ismail, said the main issue that is always brought up through the programme is regarding issues related to Family Law.
“This family law issue includes cases in the Civil Court, Syariah Court, as well as Anak Negeri/Adat. The next issue we will bring to this programme is the issue of early child marriage.
“At the outreach this time, we did not come alone but also brought together strategic partners, namely the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) and other agencies such as KWSP, JPSM, AKPK, KKM and LPPKN,” she explained.
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