Najib: Companies without women on board of directors will be ‘named and shamed’
Firms without women board members risk losing out on government contracts, says PM
LAILI ISMAIL
AND ARFA YUNUS KUALA LUMPUR news@nst.com.my
THE government will from next year start “naming and shaming” public listed companies (PLCs) that do not have any women on their board of directors.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said companies on the list would risk losing out on government contracts.
He said until December last year, women made up 16.8 per cent of the PLCs’ boards.
“However, we want to achieve our 30 per cent target.
“This means we need another 13.2 per cent. I have issued a warning that next year, we will publish the list of PLCs that do not have women as board members.
“We will name and shame these companies. I can also refuse to give government contracts if they are really recalcitrant,” he said.
He said the move would improve the percentage of women in boards of directors in the next few years.
“This is our commitment. The percentage will change dramatically when we have strict enforcement. I am confident,” he said.
Najib said this at the Transformasi Nasional 2050 dialogue during the National Women’s Day celebration here yesterday.
He also highlighted the progress and achievements of women in Malaysia over the past few years. Citing the female labour force as an example, he said women in the sector had increased to 54.3 per cent last year, from 46.4 per cent when he first took office in 2008.
As for education, he said, last year 64 per cent of students in public tertiary education institutions were women, compared with 59.7 per cent in 2007.
“When we compare these statistics, it indicates that when women succeed, all of us will also succeed,” he said. Page 1 pic: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak speaking at the Transformasi Nasional 2050 dialogue during the National Women’s Day celebration in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.