More women to contest in GE14
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Bernama) -- The diversity of women candidates fielded by political parties as well as some Independents has further enlivened the 14th General Election (GE14) campaign period which began today.
A total of 251 women were nominated to contest in either parliamentary or state seats, out of a total of 2,333 candidates.
Of the 727 (222 parliamentary and 505 state) seats contested, Barisan Nasional (BN) fielded 92 women candidates this time around, from only 40 in GE13 and 36 in GE12.
Pakatan Harapan, comprising PKR, DAP, Amanah and PPBM, put forward 85 women candidates out of a total of 660, and PAS fielded 36 women out of a total of 548 candidates in the GE14.
Meanwhile, Parti Warisan Sabah featured nine women candidates, Harapan Rakyat (seven); Parti Rakyat Malaysia (five); Penang Front Party (three); People's Action Party (two); Parti Cinta Sabah (two), along with five Independents.
The breakdown is based on figures obtained by Bernama so far.
This numbers show that more women candidates are being entrusted to represent their parties and to contest in the GE14 based on their own strengths, and not merely as complementary candidates.
The women candidates come from diverse backgrounds and have impressive academic qualifications, with some of them being lawyers, doctors, former teachers and hold key positions in their respective parties.
Wanita BN chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil when commenting on the number of BN women candidates for GE14 said the increase proved that BN was committed to empowering women in all sectors, including politics.
"BN's women candidates comprise of new and old faces. This combination shows that BN is always open to reforms, without compromising experience as one of the factors to gain victory in GE14," she said.
Meanwhile, political analyst Associate Prof Dr Ismail Sualman said the fielding of women candidates had been seen as a strategy to win the votes from female voters who made up 67 per cent of the total 14.9 million registered voters in the country.
"There is a high possibility for them to win because women will vote for women. I believe that almost 90 per cent of women candidates contesting parliamentary seats can win," he said when contacted by Bernama.
Despite the increase in the number of women candidates over the years, Ismail, who is a senior lecturer at UiTM, said the number was still small, as the Malaysian political climate was not yet open to accepting more women representation.
"However, among the younger voters, they do not care whether the candidate is a man or woman, because it has been proven that women have the capability, even at any institution of higher learning, female students make up more than 60 per cent of the population.
Among the opposition, he said the women candidates were mostly old faces, who had their own strengths, such as PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat incumbent who will contest the Pandan parliamentary seat, making way for her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, to contest the Permatang Pauh seat.
Another political analyst, Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said the increase in the number of women candidates in BN bore testimony to the government's commitment in empowering the group.
He said this was clearly in line with the BN manifesto which prioritised women, with over 80 per cent of the 364 initiatives contained in it were for the benefit of women as well as youths in the country.
-- BERNAMA
