PM: GENDER EQUALITY VITAL
Malaysia has good track record, but there is room for improvement, says Najib
COUNTRIES that exclude women from the nation-building process and development will fall behind the competition, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday.
He said governments that sidelined women had learnt a “difficult lesson” on the importance of gender equality in creating a prosperous nation.
“For Malaysia and its government, we are committed to elevating the roles and status of women. We have a very good track record in this regard, but there is room for improvement. We want to give women more opportunities and get them to be more involved in the decision-making process,” he said at the launch of 2018 Women Empowerment Year’s (TMW18) logo and branding.
Present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and other ministers.
The TMW18 logo has a rose with five petals, representing the country’s economy, education, security, health and culture.
The themes are in line with objectives outlined in the National Women Policy. The midnight blue rose was chosen to reflect the strength of women and their wellbeing. The logo will be used for women’s empowerment programmes at the federal and state levels.
Najib, in his speech, said women would be included in all major government programmes, including the investment literacy initiative and preparations for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“If these programmes can be fully implemented, we will see significant improvement among (Malaysian) women in the context of mainstream development.”
He said it was important to improve the livelihood of the Bottom 40 (B40) group by boosting their income.
“Things will improve significantly for a B40 family if both husband and wife work.”
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said women must look ahead and plan for the future.
“It is my KPI (key performance indicator) to ensure that 59 per cent of Malaysian women are in the job market by 2020.”
She said upcoming programmes for women would be updated on the TMW18 official portal, www.tmw18.gov.my.
She said the ministry would monitor the programmes to gauge their effectiveness.
During the tabling of the 2018 Budget last year, Najib announced the 2018 Women Empowerment Year and promised measures to increase women’s participation in nation-building.
These include a tax exemption for women for the first 12 months after a two-year hiatus from employment. The tax exemption can be claimed for the 2018 to 2020 assessment years.
The government also allocated RM20 million for training and entrepreneurship programmes for women, including the PEAK Entrepreneur Programme under the MyWin Academy to develop leaders.
...we are committed to elevating the roles and status of women. DATUK SERI NAJIB RAZAK Prime minister