Women now hold nearly 40% of top public sector posts, Nancy tells Dewan Rakyat

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Women have continued to increase their participation in top management positions in the public sector, reaching 39.4% as of December 2025, reflecting progress in efforts to narrow the gender gap in the country, says Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

The Women, Family and Community Development Minister said statistics from the Public Service Department (JPA) showed women were increasingly being accepted in key posts that were previously synonymous with male leadership.

“Key positions that were once pioneered and held solely by men are no longer unfamiliar to women, such as the posts of Auditor-General, Chief Justice, Director-General of Customs, mayor and others,” she said when winding up the debate on the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address for the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Feb 4).

Nancy said the achievement resulted from the government’s long-term policy introduced in 2004, which set a target of at least 30% women’s participation at decision-making levels in the public sector.

She said progress was further strengthened in 2011 when the government expanded the policy to include at least 30% women’s participation at decision-making levels in the private sector, aimed at increasing women’s participation in employment and further narrowing the gender gap.

Nancy said data from the Securities Commission Malaysia as of April 2025 showed women held 33.1% of board seats in the top 100 public-listed companies (PLCs) on Bursa Malaysia, up from 14% in 2015.

“Based on these statistics, it can be concluded that significant progress has been achieved, particularly in efforts to empower women in both the public and private sectors,” she said.

However, Nancy said women’s participation in politics remained a challenge and various initiatives had been implemented by the Ministry to improve representation and encourage greater participation of women at the highest leadership levels.

She said throughout 2025, the Ministry, through the Women Development Department (JPW), allocated a total of RM11.5mil for the implementation of various women’s empowerment and leadership programmes.

“Among them is the Women Leadership Apprenticeship Programme (Perantis), which aims to enhance the potential and number of talented women eligible to hold high positions, whether in the public or private sectors, or to play a more influential role at the community level,” she said.

She said in 2024, a total of 1,247 Perantis participants were mentored by 25 figures across 10 selected fields, including two figures who organised political leadership modules that benefited 70 participants.

She added that last year, the programme was expanded with the involvement of 100 women figures and 4,035 participants, including seven figures who organised political programmes that benefited 284 participants.

Nancy said the Perantis programme would continue this year and parties interested in participating in the women-in-politics category were encouraged to submit applications via the JPW portal at www.jpw.gov.my before Feb 28. – Bernama

Five hectares of forest at Penang Botanical Gardens go up in flames

 

GEORGE TOWN: About five hectares of forest at the Penang Botanic Gardens along Jalan Kebun Bunga here caught fire on Monday (Feb 4) evening.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) assistant operations director John Sagun Francis said his department received an emergency call at 6.24pm before dispatching a team from the Jalan Perak Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) and the Paya Terubong BBP, along with five fire engines, to the scene.

"The Firefighting Operations Team that arrived at the location found a forest fire involving an estimated area of five hectares.

"The operations commander conducted a size-up at the scene before firefighting works were carried out," he said in a statement Wednesday night.

John said firefighting operations are still ongoing, involving 19 personnel, with assistance from the New Ferry, Paya Terubong and Bukit Bendera Volunteer Fire Brigades (PBS), as well as support from the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the People's Volunteer Corps (RELA).

He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation and further information will be updated from time to time. - Bernama

NGOs slam ‘misogynistic and sexist’ promo ads for TV show

Groups say marketing strategies should not be an excuse to push messages that humiliate and demean women.

The NGOs called for the promotional ads for the TV series ‘Pak Su Ammara’ to be removed, saying they are irresponsible and demeaning.

PETALING JAYA:

 A group of NGOs, including those that advocate for women’s rights, has hit out at “misogynistic and sexist” advertisements aimed at promoting a television show and are calling for them to be removed.

The NGOs said these promotional advertisements – for a television series titled “Pak Su Ammara” – comprised several messages revolving around marital life, which were displayed on MRT trains.

The messages include “A wife who refuses emotional and physical needs will sin and be kept far from heaven” and “What’s the point of a wife being highly educated if she can’t cook?”

The NGOs said they recognised that marketing strategies often rely on provocation and “clickbait” to attract attention and may not fully reflect the values of the show itself.

“However, it does not excuse messaging that humiliates women and reinforces the notion that women are inferior or obligated to submit to their spouses.

“What’s more, these highly irresponsible and demeaning messages are open to dangerous misinterpretation with the potential to influence individuals or communities towards gender discrimination,” they said in a joint statement.

Among the groups that panned the promotional advertisements were the Women’s Aid Organisation, the All Women’s Action Society, SIS Forum (Malaysia), Martabat PJ, Family Frontiers, and Tenaganita.

They said allowing a popular television show to disseminate messages like these “serves to normalise and reinforce dangerous and harmful assumptions and beliefs about the role of women in society”.

The NGOs called on the communications ministry to investigate how these ads were approved and allowed to be displayed in public advertising spaces.

They also urged MRT, Astro, and the show’s producers to remove them immediately and to apologise “for promoting these irresponsible messages”.

“Companies have a responsibility to ensure their attention-grabbing marketing tactics do not legitimise harmful gender norms.

“This incident highlights the urgent need for corporate marketing teams to be better educated on gender issues,” they said, adding that the ministry should establish clear guidelines to prevent harmful gender messaging in public advertising. - FMT

Cops waiting for further instructions from AGC over 171 nabbed at health club

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail says the investigation paper had been sent to the Attorney-General's Chambers for review on Dec 17.

Seventeen civil servants were among those arrested by the police during a raid on the health club in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Police are still waiting for further instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers in the case involving the arrest of several men at a health club in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, believed to have been used for sexual activities.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told the Dewan Rakyat the investigation paper had been referred to the AGC on Dec 17 for review.

“Police are still waiting for further instructions,” he said in a written reply in response to Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu), who wanted to know what action the government was going to take on the 171 men detained in the raid on Nov 28 last year.

Among those arrested were 17 civil servants.

They were among 208 people nabbed by the police during the raid on the health club, where authorities also confiscated condoms and other items believed to have been used for immoral purposes.

However, they were later released after the court rejected the police application to remand them.

They had been held for investigations under Sections 377 and 372 of the Penal Code, for unnatural sexual intercourse, and exploitation of a person for prostitution, respectively, but none admitted to being a victim.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus was reported as saying at the time that since none confessed to being a victim, the case could not continue.

On a separate matter, Saifuddin said 477 trafficked victims were rescued last year, while 274 arrests were made.

Three syndicates linked to forced labour, job scams and sexual exploitation were also crippled in a sting, resulting in the rescue of 55 victims. - FMT

Malaysia Transport Safety Board Bill to be tabled in Parliament in June

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook says the bill will give the proposed board a legal foundation.

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said preparatory work is ongoing to integrate agencies like Miros and AAIB under the proposed Malaysia Transport Safety Board. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 The Malaysia Transport Safety Board (MTSB) Bill is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in June, transport minister Loke Siew Fook said.

Loke said the Cabinet has agreed in principle to establish the MTSB, but a dedicated Act must first be drafted to provide the board with a legal foundation.

He said preparatory work is being finalised through discussions with relevant ministries and agencies, including efforts to coordinate the roles of existing bodies.

“The bill is being drafted. One of the main challenges is integrating or restructuring the roles of related agencies such as the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) and the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB),” he said in his winding-up speech during the debate on the royal address for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Loke said all the functions must be reintegrated in line with the government’s position and the public service department’s guidelines, while avoiding a large increase in new posts.

“This is to reduce the financial impact on the government. It is one of the challenges in setting up the new body,” he said.

In a separate development, Loke said the transport ministry has never rejected or closed its door to negotiations with any state government on infrastructure development projects, including port and supporting facilities.

He said claims that the federal government had sidelined or discriminated against certain states were unfounded, and arose from misunderstandings about the project approval process.

“Do not make accusations that we are not giving due consideration. If there is a genuine need, such as the construction of a breakwater and the consortium is unable to finance it, the matter should be raised so it can be discussed amicably,” he said. - FMT

Johor health dept confirms TB outbreak in Kota Tinggi

Thirty-three cases have been detected after screening 804 close contacts.

The Johor health department said all the patients have received treatment and are under close monitoring at nearby health facilities. (Envato Elements pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 The Johor health department has confirmed a tuberculosis outbreak in Kota Tinggi, with 33 cases detected so far.

The department said the outbreak was identified by the Kota Tinggi health office on Jan 25 through active case detection efforts involving 804 close contacts.

“All the patients have received treatment and are currently under close monitoring at nearby health facilities,” the department said in a statement today.

“We advise residents living in the affected area and surrounding areas, especially those experiencing prolonged cough symptoms or who have had contact with tuberculosis patients, to immediately undergo health screening at the nearest health facility to curb the spread of this disease.”

The department also reported one death involving a patient linked to the cluster, but clarified that tuberculosis was not the cause of death.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and spreads through the air, particularly through prolonged close contact.

The common symptoms include a persistent cough, weight loss, loss of appetite, night sweats and coughing up blood.

Tuberculosis is both preventable and curable with effective treatment, which typically requires a minimum treatment period of six months. - FMT

Cancer care access: Why quality generics and biosimilars matter in Asia

 

“INNOVATION without access is no use to anyone.”

This quote resonates deeply with me after spending most of my adult life in the pharmaceutical industry.

This World Cancer Day 2026, I reflect on a difficult truth: while we have made significant advances in cancer treatment over the past decade, for too many families a diagnosis still brings fear—not only of the disease itself, but of whether care is financially within reach and what that cost means for life beyond treatment.

Asia’s cancer burden and the reality of uneven access

Boon Huey Ee

Nearly half of the world’s cancer cases occur in Asia yet access to comprehensive cancer care remains uneven.

While high-income countries are able to provide comprehensive treatment in more than 90% of cases, access drops to below 15% in many other parts of the world, a substantial proportion of which is in Asia.

Health systems with established oncology infrastructure and stronger reimbursement pathways tend to enable more consistent use of effective therapies from essential chemotherapy and small molecule medicines to advanced biologics and biosimilars.

However, in Asia, differences in regulation, reimbursement design and awareness continue to shape how quickly and consistently these therapies reach patients, with direct consequences for survival and quality of life.

In Malaysia and Vietnam, despite ongoing investments in oncology services, high prices and gaps in reimbursement mean many patients face significant out-of-pocket costs for biologic cancer therapies, limiting timely and sustained access.

In Vietnam in particular, high out-of-pocket spending has been linked to treatment delays and financial hardship for households affected by cancer.

In more mature systems such as Taiwan, strong regulatory and clinical infrastructure has enabled broader availability of innovative oncology medicines. At the same time, sustainability considerations have driven policy innovation.

In 2024, Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) launched a pilot programme to encourage the use of biosimilars, increasing their share among reimbursed biologics from 7.38% in 2023 to 11.9%.

The NHIA has set an ambition to raise biosimilar utilisation to 70%, strengthening drug supply resilience while expanding patient access.

Generics and Biosimilars: From cost savings to sustainable cancer care

For decades, more affordable treatment through quality generic medicines—including established chemotherapy and targeted oral therapies—have formed the backbone of cancer care across the globe, enabling continuity of treatment within constrained health system budgets.

Today, biosimilars extend this same access principle to more advanced biologic cancer therapies.

Biosimilars are medicines that are highly similar to approved biologics, with no meaningful differences in safety or effectiveness, yet are offered at substantially lower prices—often 30–50% less than reference products.

(Image: Rawpixel)

By reducing cost barriers, biosimilars can enable earlier initiation of therapy, support treatment completion, and allow more patients to benefit from proven cancer medicines.

At Sandoz, the global leader in affordable medicines, we see both generics and biosimilars as more than cost-saving alternatives. They are enablers of system-wide change, freeing up healthcare resources, expanding treatment capacity, and helping health systems deliver earlier and more equitable access to cancer care.

In more mature markets such as the UK, savings from just 10 biosimilar and generic medicines were enough to fully fund initiatives like the UK Cancer Drugs Fund.

Similar impacts are seen across Europe, where aligned policy, reimbursement frameworks and clinical leadership have driven biosimilar uptake for key oncology biologics to 60–80% within two years of launch, expanding access while maintaining system sustainability.

Call to action

As we mark World Cancer Day 2026 under the theme #UnitedByUnique, Asia has an opportunity to rethink how cancer care is delivered—recognising individual patient needs while uniting stakeholders, both in private and in public, behind scalable, sustainable solutions.

Cancer should not be a disease where treatment options are dictated by wealth or location.

With a shared commitment to people-centred care and increased adoption of quality-assured biosimilars to expand access to life-saving biologics, we can help level the playing field across Asia and give more patients a fairer chance in the fight against cancer. 

Boon Huey Ee is the president of Sandoz Asia Cluster, a regional business unit of the global generics and biosimilars leader, focusing on providing affordable, high-quality medicines across key Asian markets

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT

-  Focus Malaysia