Malaysia

Delegates of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) have re-elected the chiefs of their Youth and Wanita (women) wings, setting the pace for the party’s plenary meeting and elections next month.MIC Youth coordinator T. Mohan won the top post by a big majority while incumbent Wanita chief P. Komala Devi Krishnamurthy narrowly beat her challenger by 26 votes to retain her post, New Straits Times reported Monday.

In conjunction with the 100 years of International Women's Day, Empower with the support of the US Embassy organised an event themed "Get Equality Right for Malaysian Women" at the MACEE headquarters in Bangunana Yayasan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur on the 8th of March 2011. Through this event, Empower strongly urged the Government to fulfill its commitment to ensure at least 30% of women political participation in Malaysia.

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Wanita Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak are hoping that there would be more women candidates fielded in the upcoming 10th state election. Currently there are only four BN female representatives in the 71-member state legislative assembly. They are Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali (Samariang), Simoi Peri (Lingga), Datin Fatimah Abdullah (Dalat) and Rosey Yunus (Bekenu). The opposition has DAP's Violet Yong (Pending) and Ting Tze Fui (Meradong).

Women drivers are “slow” at the wheel and “oblivious” on the roads, a Malaysian ruling party MP told parliament, prompting outrage among women’s groups on Tuesday. It is not the first time Bung has made controversial comments about women. Rights group Tenaganita’s program coordinator Aegile Fernandez said the lawmaker’s latest remarks were “sexist” and “reflective of the kind of backward mentality of some male politicians.”

The Malaysian government's introduction of various policies and programmes for women reflects on the recognition of their contributions to the nation's development. Girl Guides Association of Malaysia Chief Commissioner Datin Seri Zalihah Mohd Taib said the policies and programmes had also given an opportunity to women to play their role in politics, and in social and economic development.

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State Minister for Social Development and Consumer Affairs Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun wants Sabah women in the civil service, non-governmental organizations and politics to be given opportunities to attend international conferences. During her visit to the United Nations in February, she observed that Sabah women were practically unrepresented.

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At the gathering in a hotel on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital, there was talk of canvassing “highly persuadable” voters, campaign budgets and media strategies. There was even a stirring speech by a “candidate.” The gathering had all the hallmarks of an election campaign meeting, with a couple of exceptions: all the participants were women, and they were from across the political spectrum, united in their eagerness to learn how to run a successful campaign.