I was sworn in as DPM, not a seat warmer - Wan Azizah

INTERVIEW | For almost two decades PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has been viewed as a reluctant politician, standing in for her jailed husband Anwar Ibrahim.

This was perhaps best encapsulated in a May 2017 interview with Al-Jazeera, when Wan Azizah said she was willing to be a seat warmer for Anwar to become prime minister as he was more suited for the job.

However, over one year later and now the deputy prime minister, Wan Azizah spoke in a different tone during an interview with Malaysiakini.

"I was sworn in as the deputy prime minister, not a seat warmer," she said when met at the Women and Family Development Ministry in Putrajaya on Tuesday.

She was also adamant that she was not Anwar's puppet, although her husband was a sounding board in Pakatan Harapan, as were other PKR leaders and even Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin.

Such views of Wan Azizah were part of the reason that Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah did not pick her as menteri besar during the state's 2014 administrative crisis.

Others had also said that she could not take up such a role due to her being a woman.

To this point, Wan Azizah said she felt that her appointment as the country's first woman deputy prime minister had proven that women can aim for the stars.

"There are conservative views that women have limits, and can't be the imam during prayers, but in other matters, I don't think there is a limit.

"The Quran has the story of the Queen of Sheba, who was a ruler in her time and later embraced Islam.

"(And) when I got this responsibility (as DPM) many women felt uplifted, that 'yes, we can achieve new heights'," Wan Azizah said.

She said the switch from being the deputy prime minister's wife to being the deputy prime minister was slightly awkward, but that her medical training to deal with emergencies had kept her nerves in check.

She is also unfazed by her critics, saying what mattered was that she did her job.

In the following excerpts from Malaysiakini's exclusive interview, Wan Azizah talks about her plans as women and family development minister.

The interview has been translated and edited for language and brevity.

Do you have plans to introduce any new policies?

No new policies, but I will improve the effectiveness of existing acts, especially the Sexual Offences Against Children Act.

Awareness on this has to be raised. We have victims who go unnoticed and are not given the appropriate attention. Action is only taken when the situation is chronic.

We want there to be awareness of this not just among families, but also among neighbours and teachers.

Children must have their rights because, as everyone knows, they are our future.

Will you be introducing food stamps?

We have discussed this, and food stamps do have weaknesses. There have to be terms when someone gets a coupon or food stamps, like in the US, where they cannot buy beer and cigarettes.

We must limit it to essentials such as baby formula and nutritional food.

We have the eKasih system which is cashless, and there are cash welfare handouts too, but cashless is better.

For example, the Kasih Ibu Smart Selangor (Kiss) programme, where cards have pin codes so that if the card is stolen, it can't be used.

How are you going to encourage more women to take up white collar jobs?

We have a target to increase demand for women professionals, especially in careers that are more challenging and for decision-making roles.

We have training programmes because capacity-building is important... not just so that women are given opportunities to pursue higher education, but also to be part of the workforce.

We also want companies to have policies so that women can get opportunities without gender bias, so that their participation is even higher at a corporate level.

Will you also encourage women to take up hard labour jobs, such as driving lorries?

I think not yet. We have to take in a women's characteristics when it comes to hard labour.

We can't change certain things we are born with.

If they are forced to take up such jobs, or they are bodybuilders, and they qualify, then yes, they can if they have what it takes to endure the challenges.

But as a main option or priority, it is better if women don't take up jobs such driving lorries. There is no need for it if there are other jobs available.

Will Pakatan Harapan fulfil its 30 percent women in cabinet target?

The cabinet is not full yet, and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he will take into account women, region and parties.

So just wait and see. It is within Mahathir's plans. -Mkini