LETTER | PKR, allow women MPs to defend their seats

LETTER | We applaud the announcement by PKR president Anwar Ibrahim that his party will field 30 percent women candidates in the 15th general election (GE15).

However, as representatives of the various civil society movements mentioned below, we would like to express our deep concern for the recent news report titled ‘Wanita PKR fuming over possible cuts to women candidates in GE15: sources’ published on Oct 20, 2022 by The Vibes that quoted anonymous sources from within PKR saying the party is cutting down its women candidates, despite its pledge.

The article mentions that incumbents like Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Pandan), Maria Chin Abdullah (Petaling Jaya), Tan Yee Kew (Wangsa Maju), and June Leow Hsiad Hui (Hulu Selangor) are among the names rumoured to have a high possibility of being replaced by male candidates.

Kak Wan is a leading figure in Malaysian politics, carrying PKR, the opposition coalition, and the reform movement through some of its toughest moments.

She is also the first women deputy prime minister of Malaysia and the former minister of women, family, and community development. Her experience and insight is invaluable and should not be discarded at a crucial time in Malaysian politics.

This is not the right time for her to leave the political scene as her role in Malaysian politics is unmatched. Kak Wan remains a strong candidate, a symbol of hope, and immovable dedication. She continues to have the support of many Malaysians and will be a crucial voice as we face the ‘mother of all elections’.

Another name mentioned is Maria Chin Abdullah, a former Bersih chair and a prominent name among gender and human rights activists in Malaysia.

As the Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya, she has a proven track record and has continued to champion and voice out issues like law and institutional reform, human rights, poverty, gender discrimination, and women’s issues.

As MP, she has often organised and rallied support from among CSOs for such causes and has provided us with a bridge between MPs and activists during the 14th Parliament.

The civil society movement still requires more activists like Maria in the Dewan Rakyat. The change that we have brought thus far, while important, pales in comparison to the enormous task at hand.

The Vibes’ article also stated that new women candidates are being considered for parliamentary seats, but they will be given difficult seats.

There have only ever been 84 women who have made it to the Dewan Rakyat since its establishment in 1959. The last Parliament saw only 14.86 percent women representation. Women remain underrepresented in politics despite half the Malaysian population being female.

Although the odd exception exists, for many Malaysian women, the system is not built for them, regardless of how hard they work and no matter how much they sacrifice. We do not want their voices to be lost and their determination to be extinguished and forgotten.

There is no doubt of the importance of increasing the number of women in Parliament. It is a well recorded fact with many examples from across the globe.

However, while the articles’ contents can be brushed aside as being merely rumours, it is very unsettling and have somewhat dampened our spirit and belief that PKR and Pakatan Harapan will be leading the charge for greater women representation during this coming election. Such a notion is unacceptable to many of us as gender equality is crucial to the reform agenda.

We would therefore like PKR to consider our appeal to allow incumbent women MPs to continue their work in politics and to pave the way for more women representation in politics.

#Salam Reformasi

Signed by:

1. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor

2. Dr Suba

3. Zainah Anwar

4. Monsoons Malaysia (MM)

5. Masjaliza Hamzah

6. Ho Yock Lin

7. Sevan Doraisamy

8. Dr Hamidah Marican

9. Jeffrey Phang, veteran community organiser

10. Marina Mahathir

11. Dr Lyana Khairuddin

12. Shaila Koshy

13. Ivy Josiah

14. G25 Malaysia

15. Family Frontiers

16. Anne Lasimbang, veteran, woman activist, Sabah

17. Winnie Yee, Gender Justice Advocate, Sabah

18. Prema Devaraj

19. Irene Xavier, veteran activist

20. Manohara Subramaniam

21. Sisters in Islam

22. Fadzilah Abdul Majid, sociologist

23. Suguna Papachan

24. Regina Rahim

25. Ng Geok Chee, lawyer

26. Patricia Nunis

27. Sujatra Jayaraj

28. Ratna Osman

29. Elizabeth Chrisostom

30. Ariv Chelvam, YSEALI

31. Soo Ooi Keng

32. Chan Yen Lian

33. Goh Mun Ting

34. Shazana Yeoh

35. Lina Naamali

36. Laurette Gomez

37. Tanya Tan

38. Catherine Ng

39. Gopalan-K Papachan

40. Haslinah Yacob

41. Wong Peck Ling

42. Chong Sue Hwa

43. Rohini

44. T. Appavu

45. April Chang

46. Christine Edwards

47. Anto

48. Richard Leow

49. Jacob

50. Lydia Ganesan

51. Low Siew Ling

52. Francis Lai

53. Ong I-Ping

54. Chrishanne Sebastiampillai

55. Coral Alfoncea Angelin Pereira

56. Brigid Patricia Thomas Dorai Raj

57. Francis Charles Thomas Dorai Raj

58. Agnes Martina Thomas Loorthanathen

59. Jacqueline Mary Thomas Dorai Raj

60. Patrick Justin Thomas Dorai Raj

61. Teo Paik Choo

62. Wong Wai Ying

63. Ang Hoon Ai

64. Natassya Lee

65. Rachel Nirmala a/p Chrisostom Bastian John

66. Alice Tan

67. Vera Tay Suet Lian

68. Lee Meng Cheng

69. Chan Kim

70. Ng Hon Yeong

71. Maheswari A/P Velayutham

72. Nityavaani a/p Gunasagaran

73. Jothilechumy a/p Arumugam

74.Manjulah a/p Kaliaperumal

75.Mageswari a/p R.Raman

76. Boomadevi Lecthumanan

77. Rajeswari Vadivelan

78. Tamilselve Govindan

79. Balasaraswathy Shanmugam

80. Chin Cheng Cheng

81. Sua Yi Wen

82. Foong Sook Yin

83. Shyamala Ponniah Maha Balasandren

84.Yap Siew Mooi

85. Wong Kim Lan

86. Nik Hussein bin Nik Abdullah

87. Kamaruddin Sulaiman

88. Rahani Binti Mohamed Sharif

89. Siva Mahadeva

90. Woon Yuet Har

91. Hoh Yoon Kai

92. Thong Quai Leng

93. Cynthia Chin Moon Leen

94. Azumin bin Mohamad Yunus

95. Azemi Maria bin Mohamad Yunus

96. Aziman Maria bin Mohamad Yunus

97. Sulaiman bin Hussin

98. Fauziah binti Aris Fathilah

99. Chesu binti Md Jusoh

100. Tan Taik Hoe

101. Tham Yuet Wah

102. Fatimah binti Ungku Salim

103. Jamilah Ariffin

104. Sarinah binti Laangku

105. Chindy Chin

106. Intan Nur Najwa binti Mohd Hussammuddin

107. Mohd Zahairuddin bin MD Zahari

108. Amirudin bin Bahari

109. Jamilah binti Yahya

110. Letchumy a/p Krishnan

111. Sumathi a/p Selvaraj

112. Shamala devi a/p Subramaniam

113. Gokilavany Maniam

114. Ratna Mala a/p Subramaniam

115. Vasuk @vassugy

116. Baskaran a/l Ramloo

117. Nurlela binti Yusuf

118. Sharifah binti Nazri

119. Hafsah Hj Hussin

120. Saiful Nizam bin Rosli

121. Zurriyatina binti Abdul Rani

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