Political parties are more likely to choose the best candidate for a seat rather than focus on gender quotas, claimed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said.
According to Azalina, political parties are responsible for determining the most qualified candidate for each seat, as there is no legal obligation to have a specific percentage of women in politics.
“It's not about numbers or quota, it's about coming up with the best person for the job. You have to negotiate with the party, and they will do their own calculations for the constituencies.
“There isn't a law that states there must be a 30 percent women participation in Parliament. You don't even have that in the Constitution,” Azalina said on BFM’s The Breakfast Grille this morning.
Politicians, regardless of their gender, face hits and misses in their career, she said.
She cited the case of a "well-known" female candidate who ran for a seat she had inherited from her family and held for several terms, before losing it in the last election.
While she did not mention names, this is believed to be in reference to Nurul Izzah Anwar, who lost the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to a Perikatan Nasional candidate in the 15th general election (GE15).
Additionally, Azalina highlighted her experience of being gender-discriminated during her GE15 campaign.
She claimed that one of her opponents argued that "a woman cannot be a leader”. However, she was grateful that her supporters knew her well enough to see beyond her gender.
"Pengerang voters have known me for nearly 20 years and said, ‘We know Azalina, we’re confident in her’.
“It all depends on the candidate's suitability,” she said.
The Pengerang MP then suggested that before implementing a law on gender quotas, there should be a proper training system for women in politics.
Her offerings as Umno veep
When asked about her feeling about being the first woman to run for Umno’s vice-president post, Azalina responded by questioning whether such a question would be posed to a male candidate.
“I always get that question but before this, the women in Umno didn't think they could offer themselves (for the post).
“But we have very strong women leaders (in Umno) such as Rafidah Aziz and Noraini Ahmad, and now I’m running for vice-president,” she said.
Azalina believes that after Umno’s performance during GE15, the party’s supporters are looking for individuals who can add value to the party rather than just personalities.
She believes that if Umno decides to field a female candidate, it will be a step in the right direction towards showing voters that the party is moving forward.
As for her platform for running, Azalina emphasises the need for change and bringing in new faces, particularly young people and women. She aims to create more training programmes to boost confidence among voters and show that Umno is progressing.
Azalina is one of the eight candidates vying for the vice-president position in the upcoming Umno party election on March 18.
She will be going head-to-head with incumbents Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who is also the higher education minister, and former Kedah menteri besar Mahdzir Khalid, among others. - Mkini
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