SFWI urged to recruit younger members

KUCHING: Sarawak Federation of Women’s Institutes (SFWI) needs to recruit more younger members in order to remain relevant and not be deemed an organisation for old women.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato Sri Nancy Shukri said that continuing their smart partnership with schools mean they can find out what the younger generation want in terms of development programmes for women.

“Our collaborations with agencies such as Malaysia Digital Corporation ( MDEC) give university students a chance to learn new skills through the internet so they can create income for the family,” she said.

She added that the Industrial Revolution 4.0 would be a good time to change the perception and social stigma of women.

“Not only are we capable of being independent, some of us have even built our own empire. As Michelle Obama said, ‘ There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”

She also told the older members that age is just a number.

“It is not an obstacle for us to carry on with our activities and our agenda to develop women. Let us be the game changers,” she said during the PPWS Triennial Representative Meeting Session 2018-2020 dinner on Saturday night.

Nancy added that women must play their role to empower themselves, and speak out to make sure none were left behind.

Women should show their strengths so that the leadership could see what they can do.

“Having a 30 per cent quota of women in decision-making positions is a good start. Once it becomes the norm, there is no reason why we shouldn’t ask for more,” she said, pointing out that women make up half the population.

There are also a lot of allocations available for women and many agencies that want to help.

“The opportunities are many, but it would be a waste if they are not utilised in a strategic manner. We must have our KPI on how many programmes we want to achieve.”

In the meeting earlier, PPWS appointed their new state working committee for the period 20182020, led by state chairperson Dato Norhyati Ismail.

PPWS was established in 1962 and celebrated its 56 anniversary this year. It has a total of 15,316 members in 420 branches across Sarawak.