PUTRAJAYA, April 24 — Malaysia’s women’s representation in politics has declined to 13.36 per cent in Parliament, prompting calls for more robust policy interventions and leadership development programmes.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the issue is not due to lack of party support, but rather, a deeply rooted political culture.
“When I first came in as an MP in 2008, there were about 14 per cent of us. Now it is dwindling, but this does not mean parties do not send enough (female candidates).
“The party did send them, but people did not vote for women because that is not a trend that we have in Malaysia. Our trend is to vote for the party. That is why my ministry introduced the Women’s Leadership Apprenticeship Programme (Perantis), to see more women take up leadership roles in politics,” she said.
Nancy was speaking to reporters after delivering her keynote address at the International Conference for Empowering Women’s Inclusive Leadership (ICEWIL) here today.
Perantis prioritises the development of women’s leadership skills in fields such as the economy, politics, social affairs, law, education, health, safety, and welfare.
The initiative was launched with a RM5 million allocation announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on March 8 last year, on International Women’s Day.
According to Nancy, in 2024, 25 recipients were chosen for the programme, but only two focused on politics, indicating Malaysians’ limited engagement with political leadership.
“That is why we need more leadership programmes like ICEWIL — so we can expose more young people to what leadership is all about,” she said.
This year, the ministry is scaling up the programme with a RM5 million investment, 100 mentors and 5,000 participants.
— Bernama
