Azalina: Trust me, it hasn't been an easy journey

During his first tenure as prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was also Umno president at the time, had appointed Azalina Othman Said as the pro-tem head of Puteri Umno in 2001.

Since then, the lawyer-turned-politician had climbed the ranks both in Umno and the government.

Prior to BN's defeat in the last general election, Azalina, 58, held the position of minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

However, the Umno supreme council member conceded that it is difficult for a woman to stamp her mark in Malaysian politics.

“Trust me, it hasn’t been an easy journey for me personally,” she told Malaysiakini in an email interview.

“Women politicians have to work a lot harder to earn our positions and seats at the table. Moreover, there are often conflicts between political ideologies and the pursuit of women’s rights,” she added.

Azalina reminded women politicians to continue serving as a voice for their gender regardless of race and religion after landing positions in the government.

“This is not the sole responsibility of the women's ministry or civil society organisations. We cannot allow conservative and patriarchal values to drown women’s political voices,” she added.

The Pengerang MP was responding to a question if she was satisfied with the racial and gender composition of the current Perikatan Nasional (PN) cabinet.

Azalina said the question should not just focus on cabinet positions.

“I have very strong views on the role of women in politics and leadership.

“Why stop at questioning gender and racial composition at the cabinet-level only? Why not at local councils or state-level appointments?

“What about gender representation in all other sectors – economy, industry, education, agriculture et cetera? After all, Malaysia is a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals,” she added.

According to Azalina, gender composition in pursuit of equality and equity should be legislated in Malaysia.

“While this remains a challenging goal to achieve, I am disheartened that the Pakatan Harapan government did not pursue this when they had a golden opportunity to do so.

“I hope that in the next general election proportionate gender representation will be taken into account seriously,” she added.

For the record, the Harapan administration had appointed the first woman deputy prime minister, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, first woman chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and first woman MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya.

Meanwhile, Azalina said it is the prime minister's prerogative to select his cabinet members, including the choice to allocate positions for women, vulnerable groups and minorities.

“The choice of cabinet members is the interpretation of the prime minister and his vision for the country.

“Ultimately, I believe the rakyat wants cabinet members who represent them. Ministers who have their ears on the ground, willing to listen. Ministers who are transparent and accountable for their actions.

“Make no mistake, our voters are smarter, more connected and politically savvy. Furthermore, we will have a new cohort of young first-time voters in the next general election,” she added. - Mkini