Honouring the Malaysian woman

 

Rejected by newspaper editor

 

In 1965 a Javanese teenager found herself commuting back and forth the lonely trunk road between her home in Seremban and Kuala Lumpur. She was only 17 and without a driver’s licence. Typically, she would be accompanied by her mother, two younger brothers and a Tiffin carrier of home cooked food for her sick father at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.

 

Life was exhausting growing up taking care of younger siblings, live-in relatives and a mother who was behaving erratically possibly due to menopause – though that would have been a huge mystery back then. Yet, she would sit for her High School Certificate exams and pass with impressive grades.

 

Today, a teenager like her who is smart and starred in a state youth hockey team would probably enrol in a good university. However, that was not the case for her. Her family needed care and her commitment was to them. Unlike some of her brothers who got the opportunity to study all the way in England, the young girl was grounded at home.

 

But what would she do for a living without the prestige of a college diploma? She would do wonders.

 

She was bold, intelligent and was blessed with a flare for writing both in English and Malay. With encouragement from the late A. Samad Ismail she became a cadet reporter. It was a rough job for a young woman fresh out of school. The press room was patriarchal, rowdy and no curse word was out of earshot. She became one of the first few women reporters in Malaysia and certainly one of the first few women reporters to cover crime news. But the tough nature of the job only prepared her for greater things in life.

 

At the age of 21, she was chosen by the Australian Rotary Club to participate in a cultural exchange programme. For several months she travelled and lived with Australian families around the Riverina region playing the role of a young Malaysian ambassador. Mayors and government officials would admire the way the young reporter carried herself and the positive image of Malaysia she represented. The Australian press would sing praises of her and the goodwill she extended on behalf of her country.

 

Her experience and talent would one day secure her a position at the esteemed Financial Times of London. How proud a Malaysian she was every time the newspaper published her by-line. Here was a hardworking young Malaysian who was truly “glokal” long before Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak invented the word.

 

But her service to her country was mostly accomplished at home. In 1973, she became the 245th employee of the newly established Malaysian Airlines System (MAS). The airline was a symbol of independence and pride in post-Merdeka Malaysia. Like her contemporaries, she put in a lot of love and hard work for the airline to take off.

 

MAS had just been created following the closure of the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA). Former MSA staff had to be reassigned, assets around the world had to be dissolved and a new Malaysian identity had to be created for MAS. She was one of those dedicated staff who helped nurse and nurture our national carrier in its teething days. And like those of her time, she would now cringe in despair whenever news of loss and abuse in the airline surfaced.

 

This young woman was well on her way to making a life for herself. But that did not mean her childhood “career” was over. She still had to dedicate time and energy everyday to clean the house and manually giling (ground) meal ingredients for her mother who endlessly received visitors. This she did despite having a full time job.

 

But it was this tough life that gave her the strength and courage to start her own business at the age of 28. Her small company, assisted by close friends and family, would organise Malaysia’s first international motor show which also featured classic cars from the Sultan of Selangor’s garage. Despite all the funds made available to young entrepreneurs today, not many below the age of 30 can claim the same glory as this woman who did not even have the privilege of a tertiary education.

 

Her hard work and perseverance paid off and she eventually blossomed into a respected corporate figure in the telecommunications industry. She had done wonders for her family and country, and had helped paved the way for professional women who came after her. Most importantly, she did it sincerely and selflessly.

 

Her proudest moment however, was the day she stood on a sidewalk as she watched the eldest of her three daughters march the streets of Wellington, New Zealand dressed in a graduation gown and a mortarboard on her head.

 

To this woman, my mother, and other Malaysian women like her, I wish you happy anniversary. Your daughters are proud of you and are eternally grateful for your sacrifices.

 

Thank you for making Malaysia a better place for us. 

  

Business as usual

 

Rejected by newspaper editor

 

The recent Umno general assembly was hard to ignore. Even Pakatan Rakyat die-hards who claimed Umno had passed its glory were tuning in to news reports and blog posts to keep up with the latest. Young people and non-party members too wanted to know what in-coming party president and prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had to say, and they wanted to know who would be the new leaders entrusted to salvage the bruised party from further ruin.

 

What happens in the Umno general assembly affects not only party members but the whole country. By convention, for as long as Barisan Nasional dominates parliament, the Umno president and deputy president will become the country’s prime minister and deputy prime minister respectively. It is also usually the case that members of the supreme council are appointed into cabinet. In this regard (and whether one likes it or not) Umno’s business is everybody’s business.

 

The assembly was particularly important this year because things were not well with the rakyat. We have been in a state of political restlessness for a whole year and are anxious about the impending economic depression.

 

We knew from the onset that the outcome of the general assembly must provide some sense of confidence for the rakyat. More importantly, the assembly and the party elections had to reflect the changes demanded by the general electorate. If not for the party’s own survival, for regular Malaysians to feel assured that their grievances were heard.

 

The Umno delegates knew this, and they knew they had the power to act. They also knew since March 8 last year that women and the young were two caucuses they could not afford to neglect. These are groups that are becoming increasingly informed and demanding. To make things trickier, they exist within the party and without.

 

The delegates knew they had to win, win back and maintain support from these caucuses. And they knew that in their weakened form, they had to take drastic measures.

 

For these important caucuses the Umno delegates voted into the supreme council Datuk Bung Moktar Radin, the Sabahan whose greatest contribution in parliament was to use abusive and sexist language against his colleagues. They also installed Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, chief of the ‘failed and forgotten’ Putera Umno.

 

For Malaysia’s mothers, women professionals and activists as well as the women who make up 60 percent of all graduates produced year after year by our local universities, the delegates delivered just one representative to the supreme council: Datuk Dr. Norraesah Mohamad. And in the spirit of reform and renewal, they voted overwhelmingly for Khairy Jamaluddin despite his unpopularity and the stern warning against bribery issued by the party’s disciplinary board just a week before the elections.

         

So, the Umno delegates have exercised their right and power to elect their heroes and role models. Meanwhile, Pakatan Rakyat is poised to continue their offensive against Barisan Nasional in the upcoming tri-elections and the rakyat too will continue to be restless and anxious. Looks like it is business as usual in Malaysia, everyone. What’s for lunch?

 

Young women must claim their space

 

As published in The Sun              

 

UNIVERSITY students are still waiting for the University and University Colleges Act to be abolished, or at least amended to suit the 21st century.

 

The Act has been used to curb student activities, particularly to prevent student involvement in party politics. However, over the years the Act has acquired new jurisdictions to include student participation in organisations and movements with broader interests. The result is a generation of removed and apathetic young Malaysians.

 

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old Egyptian girl finds herself in the thick of action in Malaysia. Hadil El-Khouly is in town to lend a hand at the Musawah meeting in Kuala Lumpur this weekend.

 

Musawah is a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family. The meeting will see some 200 Muslim scholars and activists from 49 countries come together to launch the movement and discuss ideas on how to reform Muslim family law.

 

Hadil arrived from Cairo in December to assist the organisers with Arabic translations for their meeting materials as well as to strategise on integrating young women into the movement.

 

“It’s important for young women to have experience in activism, in this case, in the Islamic context. Our experiences and challenges may differ from the older generation, for example on issues relating to identity and acceptance within the Muslim community. A body like Musawah can also promote multi-generational dialogue,” she said.

 

As a student at Cairo University from which she graduated in law, Hadil was active in student organisations promoting equality and justice for women. At 18, she threw herself into the “real world” working with the Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance.

 

“Starting work young forced me to manage my time between school and work. But the experience was liberating,” she said.

 

She said the women’s movement in Egypt is, as a whole, a visible and strong one. The student organisation she was involved in promoted equality and justice for women, but was conscious not to exclude men.

 

Their activities would ride on the general human rights platform (where women’s rights are an integral part) which included male students.

 

Women in the Arab world are reluctant to identify with the English term “feminist” even though they have an active women’s rights movement.

 

As writer Tala Al-Ramahi said in the UAE-based publication The National, even progressive Arab women “would be weary of the word, most probably because it carries with it Westernised connotations of what a woman is expected to be.” They would prefer to identify with the kind of activism that is more relevant to their own cultural context. Moreover, another major criticism of “feminist” groups is that they tend to hold dialogues only among themselves.

 

Hadil said that for the cause to succeed, women’s groups cannot afford to isolate men. After all, when it comes to legislation men would have to vote for women’s rights too.

 

That is precisely what Musawah is trying to achieve: reform in legislation. Muslim family law in many countries has not changed from the classical legal framework. This framework does not take into consideration the daily realities of Muslim women today. Malaysia, for example, is a good case study.

 

While Malaysia remains one of the more progressive Muslim countries, its position as a leading nation in providing just Muslim family laws has been surpassed by countries like Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia. We can claim back our position in the Muslim world by supporting Musawah’s international law reform movement to end discrimination against Muslim women across the globe.

 

Hadil sees immense potential for our country to play a major role in the movement. Malaysia’s strength, she said, is in the diversity of her people.

 

She said young Malaysians must have the desire to be part of the decision-making process and young women especially, must integrate and dare to take risks. Most importantly, they must claim their space because no one will give it to them freely.

 

Insultingly slow progress

As published in The Sun

 

I was told the administration listens to young people and takes their recommendations seriously, so I wrote my heart out here for many months. But I lost hope in writing when issues brought up in this column were left unheeded.

 

Until today, the outdated University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) still exists to stifle the already severely drained brains of our youths. American warships too are still welcomed to dock at our shores with their cargo loaded with nuclear things that could fry all of Peninsular Malaysia in a puff. What’s more, despite cries for electoral reform, the long-serving Tan Sri Abdul Rashid was retained as Election Commission chairman and parliament was even mobilised to extend his tenure.

 

Equally upsetting is the painfully slow incorporation of women in decision making positions — so slow it is insulting!

 

And oh, did the leader of Wanita Umno just get dropped from the 2008 cabinet? Shouldn’t she, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, instead get a feather in her hat for maintaining her parliamentary seat in a state that otherwise voted Opposition? Does being the head of a wing that makes up half of the party’s membership not count?

 

How many members does Wanita Umno have anyway? That’s right, more than the number of residents in the city of Shah Alam put together! And isn’t Rafidah also the head of Wanita Barisan Nasional (BN)?

 

How is this the way forward for women representation in leadership positions? This question alone is enough to get one writing again.

 

Following the landmark Putrajaya Declaration mooted by members of the NAM Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Women in 2005, the Malaysian government vowed to allocate up to 30 per cent seats for women in decision making positions.

 

They were so serious at the time about recognising women’s talents that it was made policy in the Ninth Malaysian Plan (2006-2010). The move instantly won the BN government and then Minister of Women and Family Development, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, extra brownie points.

 

Naturally, the nation could only expect the government to fulfil its promise. And where better to initiate change than the in cabinet itself. But the cabinet reshuffle in 2006 was perhaps held too soon and was too minor a reshuffle for the government to incorporate more women ministers. It therefore maintained only three women ministers in a lineup of 32.

 

Women were told to “be patient” but the government declined to commit to a deadline for the fulfilment the 30 per cent quota. We did however, see some women made boss in various government agencies like Bank Negara and public universities. Still, those appointments were not enough and expectations were high in the political realm.

 

By the time the 2008 election was announced, the nation expected BN’s commitment to manifest in its list of election candidates. It did, but too minimally. According to the Joint Action Group for gender Equality (JAG), Umno which contested for 453 seats, led the pack by fielding 40 women candidates — up only by five candidates since the 2004 election. Had Umno, the backbone party of the BN government, forgotten about their promise in 2005 and in the Ninth Malaysia Plan?

 

Worse still, instead of seeing more women ministers in the 2008 cabinet, we now have less. With Rafidah deserted, we only have Datuk Ng Yen Yen and Datuk Seri Azalina Othman left. Shahrizat doesn’t count because she is not a cabinet member.

 

Speaking of which, what exactly is Shahrizat’s post all about? Why appoint sineibe wgi enjoys ministerial status but doesn’t need to attend cabinet meetings? Is it necessary to make someone a minister if her role is solely to advice on the Islamic Family Law? Shouldn’t she instead be advising Ng Yen Yen who is the new Minister of Women and Family Development, perhaps as an advisor within the ministry? Wait … didn’t Shahrizat fail to defend Muslim women against the Islamic Family Law amendment a few years back?

 

Her appointment may be to give face to Wanita Umno whose boss was dropped from the cabinet lineup. But it looks like it would create ambiguity for the new minister.

 

So how exactly is all this supposed to be good in promoting women leadership?

 

Crouching tigers in Malaysian politics: Young women and their chance to lead

 

As published in Tell

 

There can be no looking back for young women politicians in the country. The stage has already been set. From now, they have no choice but to get better and make a stronger presence. JUANA JAAFAR has the story.

 

The general elections in 1999 was considered one of the fiercest in Malaysia following the sacking of former Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and the launch of the Reformasi movement. Although Barisan Nasional won, it lost sizeable support, mainly from young Malaysians.

 

In UMNO, which is the backbone of the Barisan, a solution was found. Puteri UMNO was formed to help the party woo new eligible voters from the largely untapped population of young Malay women.

 

When a formula works, copycats will come. Other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties as well as opposition parties followed suit with their versions of women’s youth wings, thus giving the role of young women new dynamics in Malaysian politics.

 

The women’s youth wing may be a relatively new appendage to party politics, but politics itself is not virgin territory to Malaysian women. Their involvement traces back to pre-Merdeka in organisations such as Angkatan Wanita Sedar (Awas), Women’s Federation (W’s Fed) and Pergerakan Kaum Ibu in UMNO.

 

Women are no strangers in the electoral process either, having participated in the first general elections in Malaya (1955) which saw the first woman elected into parliament – paving the way for more women representatives in subsequent elections.

 

The 12th general elections on March 8th promises to be no less exciting. Women’s contributions in politics have become increasingly important with more of them being given the confidence to contest for their parties. Even the conservative religious party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), has found itself having to, “go with the flow,” and breaching convention by fielding more women candidates. Interestingly, there are also more young women on the ballot this time around.

 

It has been almost 10 years since young women got their own wings in party politics – can they say they have arrived?

 

Toothless vs. Teething

 

“When I joined in 2005 the women’s youth wing was more of a loose movement within the party. We have since organised ourselves and now have a wing branch in every state,” said 29 year old Farina Hashim from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

 

The head of the women’s youth wing, Puteri PPP, Farina admits the wing is mostly involved in organising supporting activities for the main party. They see themselves as a new entity that still needs the guidance of party leadership, particularly their senior counterparts in Wanita PPP.

 

“Whatever we want to do in Puteri, we must get the Wanita involved. We look to them for guidance because they are more experienced. I think this is the same in most parties where any ideas put forth by the women’s youth wing is vetted and discussed with the main party leadership,” she added.

 

Fellow colleague Feonaaz Roslan, 31, who heads the Puteri PPP branch in Kuala Lumpur said the wing is autonomous insofar as they are free to organise their own activities. But the main party leadership must approve all project mechanics to ensure that the good names of PPP and BN are maintained.

 

“These activities are important for the women’s movement as a whole,” she adds. “We are providing opportunities for young women to come forth and exercise their leadership skills by allowing them to head various projects.”

 

Most of these projects are focused on community work and outreach programmes. For MCA’s Connie Liew, joining a political party allows her to do NGO-type activities besides getting political exposure. The 27-year old Publicity Head says the party’s women’s youth movement, BeliaWanis, organises camps and talks for its members, as well as relief work when there are natural disasters.

 

“While I see our current activities as valuable to young women and the party, I also think we have to start giving more political talks and create real political awareness among young women. Not only will we be able to woo new members who are interested in political issues, it will also give the women’s youth movement more political strength,” said Nicole Wong, Organising Secretary of BeliaWanis.

 

Nicole, 28, said Malaysian politics can do with fresh, new ideas. She strongly believes that in order to remain relevant and competitive, her party must adjust to new social realities where young women are more affluent and independent.

 

BeliaWanis is not yet an independent wing. They exist as a bureau under the party’s women’s wing, Wanita MCA.

 

“The main reason why we are still just a bureau is because we still do not have enough young women wanting to be actively involved in politics. I agree that young women are more politically aware today, but they are not necessarily politically involved,” Connie said.

 

But whether they like it or not, added Nicole, external pressure will eventually force MCA to establish BeliaWanis as an independent wing. For as long as BeliaWanis remains a bureau, young women cannot help but to think the party does not recognise them as an important and valuable bloc.

 

“Right now women really have to fight for their place in politics. In the general elections Wanita members have to negotiate for their seats and they are still struggling to get their 30% quota. But this is also why we need more young women to come in and support them. Across all the parties you see that male Youth members are given more seats to contest in the elections. They actually get a chance to be leaders. Unfortunately, not many young women get the same opportunity,” she said.

 

Time to pounce

 

Zaitun Mohamed Kasim, or Toni Kasim, feels sad for young women involved in political parties because they have to work so hard to prove their self worth. On the one hand they have to convince their elders they are worthy of their stripes. On the other, they have to compete with the seniors for seats and positions in elections. That is, if at all they can participate in the contest.

 

“The formation of women’s youth wings reflects that political parties have come to recognise young women as a caucus. But it has been many years now since these wings were established and it looks like the main parties are still treating them like a kindergarten unit,” she said.

 

Age and experience always come into the equation when young members want to climb party ranks, or when parties decide on their election candidates. Toni, who ran as an independent parliamentary candidate in the 1999 general elections, does not think age should be a deterring factor.

 

“If age was a problem, running at the age of 32 would not have allowed me to gain 43% of votes in Selayang against a strong incumbent,” she said. Toni is member of the Women’s Candidacy Initiative which promotes direct participation of civil society in the electoral process.

 

“The women’s wing must have a shelf life. Indeed, it allows space for women to come together in politics, but until when? When can they run for party leadership? Or are they destined to just head the women’s wing? Women want to be heard so they become members of a political party. But when they join, they get buried,” she added.

 

In 2005, a parliamentary vote on amendments to the Islamic Family Law saw women senators outraged and close to voting against the bill. They were soon forced to change their minds after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz threatened to invoke the party Whip if they did not comply.

 

“I think some women representatives are doing good work, but they are also inhibited by the party they belong to. I do not see the point of them being in parliament if they have to toe the line on positions that they and their constituents do not agree with. This is why it is important to have independent women parliamentarians,” Toni said.

 

Nurul Izzah Anwar from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) said women are ready to lead in politics. “Women however, are generally selfless by nature and in politics this translates as them willing to take on even the smallest roles,” she said.

 

Women are the machinery in all political parties. They traditionally act as party agents who canvass votes from house to house during elections. It is not an easy job, said the 27 year old, because, “you have to put in a lot of hours into it. It is sad that parties generally do not reward them for their efforts.”

 

Contesting for a parliamentary seat this year against incumbent Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil who was Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Nurul said she is more involved in organising political events for the party’s leadership and doing grassroots work rather than in the women’s wing activities.

 

“I came into politics with a sense of leadership. The whole experience of following my father’s long imprisonment gave me a sense of clarity and vision for myself and my country. I also became a symbol of hope for a lot of young people who identified with me, and who wanted change. And now that I am a mother, I see how women are so important in every aspect of our daily lives. I would go as far as to say women are the ones who should set the country’s agenda,” she added.

 

Held by the tail

 

Nurul acknowledged however, that PKR has a long way to go in attracting more women into politics. Wanita PKR works very closely with NGOs to address women’s issues and does groundwork to help women. But the party has yet to create an image that is attractive to women, particularly young women.

 

“In the early days we got a lot of support from womenfolk which we regrettably did not fully maximise. Although we had an agenda for women then, we were not able to organise a real women’s movement. It is quite tough for us in the opposition because we do not provide access to power. In that sense, there is one less incentive for young women to want to join us,” Nurul said.

 

“We also have to accept the reality of prevalent political culture. In Malaysia it is still an ‘old boy’s’ network. Men tend to bond with the men. But when women bond with women they are seen as a sorority. This is a false assumption,” said Information Chief of Wanita PKR, Elizabeth Wong.

 

Like MCA, PKR does not have an independent women’s youth wing. Instead, they have a department within the women’s wing called Sri Kandi.

 

“We do not have an all-male Youth wing like most parties, rather an Angkatan Muda where it is mixed. We encourage our young women to get involved in the Angkatan Muda and contest for office there. In the real world it is not just women, so this is our way to train them,” said the 37 year old who is also contesting in the coming general elections.

 

As parliamentary aid to PKR president Datin Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Elizabeth said the media is also a stumbling block for women’s progress in politics. She said Wan Azizah could be a positive symbol of woman leadership if the media gave her fair coverage. Wan Azizah is the second woman to ever be president of a political party in Malaysia. The first was Ganga Nayar of the Malaysian Worker’s Party in 1978.

 

Rather than reporting on important matters raised by women parliamentarians, she said the media instead prefers to report on name-calling between representatives and other sensational issues.

 

Puteri UMNO’s Nolee Ashilin Radzi, 33, and Fahariyah Nordin, 29, also agree the media have not been fair in their coverage on women politicians.

 

“The media tends to interview more exco members from Pemuda UMNO than they would Puteri. This probably has a lot to do with society’s cultural baggage where men’s views in politics are seen to carry more weight than women’s,” said Fahariyah, a Puteri division head.

 

But women too have to make statements that are newsworthy. In its earlier days, she said, Puteri used to make larger headlines as it was a national novelty. Apart from being a new wing it also used to make bolder statements. While there is some bias in media coverage, Puteri must also acknowledge that it too has its weaknesses and needs to be more media savvy.

 

On criticisms that the women’s youth wing is seen as frivolous, Fahariyah said it had to do with people’s general perception of politics as something of a man’s turf and where women take up a lesser role. As such, the women have to strive much harder than the men to uphold an impeccable image.

 

“We do recognise that we have an image problem and we have discussed it even at the national exco level. We should not be thoroughly ashamed of it but it is something we certainly have to address. We are not blind to our imperfections and we plan to work on it after the general elections,” Nolee said.

 

Exco member and chief of the education bureau, Nolee said the re-branding of Puteri has to start at the individual level. If individual members carry a good image, it will reflect positively on the wing as a whole. But even with good image, she said, the women’s youth wing still has to deal with the cultural problems within and without the party where women are not seen as a potent force in politics.

 

“Puteri Umno had four elections candidates in 2004 and this year they are fielding ten. The wing considers this a major success considering they are a relatively new entity in the party,” said Fahariyah. “The party leadership has clearly recognised our potential. Even in 2004 we were already given seats to contest in the general elections despite the fact that we were only 2 years old then.”

 

“We look forward to the general elections this year because we want to be valued based on merit. We want to show that we are just as able as the men. If we do not prove our valour and ability then we lose bargaining power. Not just that, people in general will not bother about us,” added Nolee.

 

Similar to most parties, Puteri UMNO finds itself having to give way to their senior women’s wing in the general elections. It is part of their power-sharing pact and a show of respect. But the fight for seats would be less intense between the two wings if the party exercised the policy of 30% women representation adopted by the government in 2004.

 

“As a younger wing we have to make way for our seniors. We also have to remember that Wanita UMNO makes half of the party membership. Furthermore, they are the ones who go from house to house to woo voters. They have direct contact with voters, which technically means they have the power to swing votes. Their role in elections therefore is extremely important to the party.

 

Unfortunately, due to the cultural baggage, they are awarded fewer seats than the men,” Nolee said.

 

“The problem of cultural baggage is something we have to overcome. We will not let it deter us from moving forward,” she added.