Women’s political representation: Progressing in Malaysia?
Source: Eurasia Review
While female political representation has increased under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, progress remains slow and women are still impeded from advancing towards roles of leadership.
The political earthquake in Malaysia that brought Pakatan Harapan (PH) into power on 9 May 2018 also shattered the glass ceiling for women in government. PH outperformed its predecessor, Barisan Nasional (BN), in appointing more female politicians in the cabinet and across key institutions.
Malaysia saw its first female chief justice, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat; first female deputy prime minister (DPM), Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail; and first female anti-corruption chief commissioner, Latheefa Koya. Including the deputy premier, PH has five female ministers (Zuraida Kamaruddin, Teresa Kok, Yeo Bee Yin, and Rina Harun) and four female deputy ministers (Hannah Yeoh, Teoh Nie Ching, Fuziah Salleh, and Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis), who hail from the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), the Democratic Action Party (DAP), and the Sabah Heritage Party (Warisan).
This is certainly significant progress for gender equality, especially in an Asian society that remains largely conservative. Notwithstanding, this progress is insufficient, going by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
As of 2019, Malaysia ranks 143rd out of 190 countries on women’s representation in national parliament, according to IPU. In ASEAN, Malaysia stands third from the bottom, above Myanmar and Brunei. Notably, Malaysia has been one of the longest stable democracies with regular parliamentary elections in ASEAN.
In the 2018 general election, both PH and BN did not disregard the importance of women in politics. Their manifestos pledged to uphold a 30 percent quota of female representation in federal and state governments. However, this stands as yet another unfulfilled promise of Pakatan Harapan.
Click here to read the full article published by Eurasia Review on 15 January 2020.
While female political representation has increased under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, progress remains slow and women are still impeded from advancing towards roles of leadership.
The political earthquake in Malaysia that brought Pakatan Harapan (PH) into power on 9 May 2018 also shattered the glass ceiling for women in government. PH outperformed its predecessor, Barisan Nasional (BN), in appointing more female politicians in the cabinet and across key institutions.
Malaysia saw its first female chief justice, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat; first female deputy prime minister (DPM), Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail; and first female anti-corruption chief commissioner, Latheefa Koya. Including the deputy premier, PH has five female ministers (Zuraida Kamaruddin, Teresa Kok, Yeo Bee Yin, and Rina Harun) and four female deputy ministers (Hannah Yeoh, Teoh Nie Ching, Fuziah Salleh, and Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis), who hail from the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), the Democratic Action Party (DAP), and the Sabah Heritage Party (Warisan).
This is certainly significant progress for gender equality, especially in an Asian society that remains largely conservative. Notwithstanding, this progress is insufficient, going by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
As of 2019, Malaysia ranks 143rd out of 190 countries on women’s representation in national parliament, according to IPU. In ASEAN, Malaysia stands third from the bottom, above Myanmar and Brunei. Notably, Malaysia has been one of the longest stable democracies with regular parliamentary elections in ASEAN.
In the 2018 general election, both PH and BN did not disregard the importance of women in politics. Their manifestos pledged to uphold a 30 percent quota of female representation in federal and state governments. However, this stands as yet another unfulfilled promise of Pakatan Harapan.
Click here to read the full article published by Eurasia Review on 15 January 2020.