Putrajaya spent more on football than childcare, says DAP Wanita

The Malaysian national football team poses after their 2012 Olympic qualifying match against Pakistan, in Lahore March 9, 2011. Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 Putrajaya, which spent more on football than childcare in the past 26 years, should allow greater female participation in the government to ensure gender-insensitive decisions like this do not persist, the DAP Wanita chief has said.

Chong Eng claimed the government had in the past 26 years spent RM569 million on football but only RM22.4 million in grants to set up 231 childcare centres despite their importance to national development. She then held this as proof that more women were needed in top public sector posts.

This was because decisions made by Cabinet and other government bodies were more likely to have a positive effect on the fight for gender equality than private sector ones, she reasoned.

Decisions made by the government will have a bigger effect on the people and nation, she said in a statement today.

For example, decisions by the Cabinet such as the 30 per cent women quota for corporate sector will affect the market as well as the job dynamics of men and women.

Chong pointed out that women only made up 10 per cent of MPs, eight per cent of state assemblymen and four out of 148 mayors nationwide. They have also never been appointed as prime minister, finance minister, chief minister or mentri besar.

Such gender imbalanced power structure eventually caused a neglect of womens perspective in policy making, ignoring the needs of women, children and families, the Bukit Mertajam MP said.

While admitting that the 30 per cent quota for women in the private sector was commendable, Chong said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should also make the same requirement of the government if he was sincere about tackling gender inequality.

The prime minister has the power to undo this long-t! ime gend er disparity, she said.

Najib announced on Monday that the corporate sector must have at least 30 per cent womens representation at the boardroom level in five years time.

He said the move was an extension of a similar government policy introduced in 2004 for the public sector, which saw an increase in female participation from 18.8 per cent that year to 32.3 per cent last year.

However, as of 2010, only 13 per cent, or 91 women, were appointed as board directors in Ministry of Finance Inc, while women make up just 7.6 per cent of the boardroom in 200 public-listed companies as of November 2010 and six per cent in financial institutions as of April this year.

Womens rights groups lauded the announcement by the government yesterday but employers had baulked at the measure, stating that all positions should be earned by merit.