Shahrizat wants more women elected reps
SADONG JAYA: The Barisan Nasional ( BN) Women wing yesterday called on political parties to field more women in this year’s state election in order to enhance women participation in state affairs.
BN Women chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said there was a general lack of political parties adopting women resulting in their low participation in politics at parliamentary and state assembly levels.
She lamented that they made up less than 10 per cent of elected representatives, much lower than the desired 30 per cent.
Shahrizat added that a proposal had been submitted to state BN chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem as well as the presidents of other component parties to consider f ielding more women candidates in the forthcoming state election.
“It seems that the state BN chairman welcomes the proposal as he is a leader who believes in inclusive leadership, including the leadership of women.
“The matter has been discussed with every component party women chief. However, it is still up to each party president to make the decision,” she told a press conference after a leader- meetthe people session at Kampung Sg Buloh longhouse near here yesterday.
“What I want is for women who are qualified to be nominated as the people’s representative,” she said, adding that women deserve to be given the same opportunities as men.
Commenting further, Shahrizat noted that the state government emphasised development, thus she hoped that the opposition parties would not hijack the state’s development agenda to transform the state’s urban and rural areas.
“Under the BN governance over the years the people of Sadong Jaya have witnessed numerous changes in terms of its infrastructure development , faci l ities and amenities.”
Shahrizat, who was leading a delegation of women chiefs from BN component parties on a three-day work visit to Sarawak, said she was satisfied with the BN machinery in the state, which was initiated since the last state election in 2011.
“This is a good sign as once the state legislative assembly is dissolved, we are ready.”