[ad_1]
KOTA KINABALU: It’s a disappointing and backward move that no women were included in the Sabah Cabinet lineup, says Amy Marcus, operations officer for the Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group (Sawo).
“All positions are held by men, including the social development portfolio, which is usually the symbolic position given to a female politician,” he said.
Marcus said that the representation of women in Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) has been declining over the years and is now less than 10%.
He said that in the previous government, Datuk Christina Liew was appointed as Chief Deputy Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment.
But in this new cabinet led by Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), women are now not even considered qualified to handle social development problems in the state, a portfolio normally given to women in Sabah.
She said the message sent by the new government to women was loud and clear: that they did not believe that women mattered at the decision-making level.
“Our message to the new government: Ignore women at your own risk.
“We have seen how countries with women leaders have performed better in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic,” Marcus said.
Some examples include Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark, Katrin Jakodsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland, Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, and Tsai Ing-Wen, President of the ROC (Taiwan ).
She said that in this 21st century, women around the world are taking their rightful place in the leadership of their communities and countries.
The question of whether women could lead was no longer an issue, although not in Sabah, he said.
“It’s a shame because when women are empowered, the whole society, including families and communities, would benefit,” she said.
The six nominated assemblymen should resign because, as a country that practiced a democratic electoral system, the individuals who deserved to be nominated should be those who stood in the recently concluded state elections.
“The top six losing candidates deserve to be named Assembly Nominees because they actually stood for election and got between 35% and 42% of the total votes cast in their respective constituencies,” Marcus said.
Instead, five men and one woman who did not even run in previous elections were nominated, he said.
To add insult to injury, a PAS member whose party did not even compete in the elections was named, he said.
“We call on all nominees to show a sense of fair play and justice to make way for the six ‘best losers’ women who had the guts to run for office and did pretty well at that,” said Marcus.
[ad_2]
