The sky’s the limit for women
They make up half of Malaysia’s electorate
KUALA LUMPUR: There is something special about this general election: Women will have the upper hand.
They will, after all, make up 50.5% of the 14.9 million voters, thus forming the majority of the country’s electorate.
“Women hold up ‘half the sky’ when it comes to voters. No candidate can win without votes from women. I can say this with certainty,” said Barisan Wanita chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
Women were a minority among voters until 2008, when they began to overtake men (see graphic).
There are now 7.56 million women who are registered as voters, making up slightly more than half of the 14,968,304 voters.
Shahrizat, who is also Wanita Umno chief, leads the party’s formidable Jalinan Rakyat (JR), a network comprising 200,000 Wanita members.
They have been keeping track of sentiments on the ground nationwide and practically going door-todoor, especially in rural areas, to secure support for Barisan.
To connect with the people, JR holds programmes ranging from religious classes to potluck sessions.
“These programmes provide an opportunity for us to get close to voters. We engage not only with women, but also with men and young people,” said Shahrizat.
Wanita Umno has also embraced social media, using it to explain issues and counter false news and allegations against the Government and party.
But nothing beats the traditional way of engaging the people by meeting them face to face, said Shahrizat.
“This is our greatest weapon. Do not discount the value of personal engagement. It is still the most effective way to swing votes,” she said.
She described Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as this kind of politician, noting that he could be seen being comfortable with world leaders as well as with village folk.
The JR network has also been
expanded into what has been named “JR-PLUS”, with Wanita Umno members roping in their counterparts from other Barisan component parties.
As for issues faced by women, Shahrizat said while the Opposition had made many allegations against the Government, women consider bread and butter issues their top concern.
“Education, health, jobs for their family and cost of living are their main concerns and these are what we have been tackling,” she said.
PKR is also taking note of women power, with vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar saying she had started her Wanita Penentu (Women Decide) campaign nationwide.
The campaign, she said, was to remind women on how powerful their voting power could be.
“We cater to their needs by making the events during teatime or in a talk show format to encourage interaction with mainly female speakers,” said Nurul Izzah, who is also the Lembah Pantai MP.
She will be going to Kedah this weekend, having covered areas such as Perak, Penang, Johor and Pahang.
Within her own constituency, she said house-to-house visits were done at every available opportunity.
She said the party also made sure there were programmes that were friendly to both working mothers and homemakers to help shift the tide in their favour.