MCA Wanita backs corporate quota to protect women

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 MCAs womens wing lauded today Putrajayas compulsory 30 per cent quota for women directors in the private sector

The movement said such a policy protected and boosted the gender to be on par with men.

This latest announcement by the government is meant to improve and protect the status of women as well as to build and achieve gender equality, said Wanita MCA secretary-general Chew Lee Giok in a statement today.

Women cannot only depend on their efforts to improve, but they also need the support of policies to help them accomplish more, she added.

The senator urged the public to fully back the federal government decision, which she said was based on advice from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry led by fellow senator Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

The Wanita MCA statement runs counter to ex-trade minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz who criticized the new and mandatory policy counter-productive to Malaysias bid to be a globally competitive player.

Chew said women today play important roles in the nations politics and economy but remain disadvantaged in areas such as public financial institutions, government-linked companies and statutory bodies, despite official figures showing women rising up the ladder in those same fields as highlighted earlier today by Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, a prominent social activist and the eldest child of Malaysias fourth prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Out of our countrys population of 27 million people, nearly half of these are women, so women should play important roles in all fields, said Chew.

Claiming to speak for all women, the politician added that they were keen to promote the governments concept and to play an important role in the country, including the governments Economic Transformation Porgramme and the Government Transformation Programme.

But Chew also said that in a democratic country the performance and ability of a person must be viewed in order to ass! es a per sons capabilities and not through gender alone.