Puteri UMNO should not merely relegated to organising “anak angkat” programmes and other community work

I am called to respond to a statement made by Wanita UMNO assistant secretary Datuk Rosni Sohar that DAP’s decision to select me as a parliamentary by-election candidate despite my lack of seniority in the party was akin to a culture of “instant-noodle leaders.”

I am not surprised by Rosni’s remarks as I know that the notion of youth empowerment are foreign concepts to a party that does not even have an age limit for the post of Ketua Pemuda. Furthermore, merit and capability are also unfamiliar terms to UMNO as we hardly ever see any renewal in the party. While Pakatan Rakyat can boast of many MPs and State Assemblymen – both male and female – in their 20s and 30s, the number of young representatives from UMNO and BN can be counted on one hand. Is it because they have no young talent at all, or because they do not empower them?

However, I am pleased that the issue and impact of Malay women participation in the DAP is being discussed by my fellow sisters on the other side. I also agree that we young women in the opposition have many things to learn from Puteri UMNO, especially with regards to their charity and welfare programmes.

However, it is unfortunate that the young, dynamic and capable women of Puteri UMNO are mostly confined to doing community visits, mobilising crowds for party events and organising charity events. While these are important work, I believe that young women must also be empowered and given real opportunities to lead.

In Malaysia, 64% of the population is below 40. Half are women. Yet, young women are barely represented in the Dewan Rakyat. The largest political party boasts of having 390,000 young women members nationwide. But if so, why is there so little visible participation by Puteri UMNO in political spaces and decision-making platforms? Perhaps they are not “senior” enough to be considered.

With the might of the Federal government machinery behind them and with 390,000 members, which is double the total number of DAP members nationwide, Puteri UMNO should be a real political force in our country and not merely relegated to organising “anak angkat” programmes and other community work. Unfortunately, that is the fate of young women in UMNO and BN.

I recently attended the Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review, where the Young Women’s Caucus resolved to:

1. Ensure meaningful and effective participation of young women in political spaces, decision making platforms and accountability mechanisms, including in formulating and implementing laws, policies, plans and budgets.
2. Create an enabling environment for building leadership of young women.
3. End all forms of harassment, including direct and indirect political harassment, to realize young women’s true participation in the political sphere.

It is now obvious that under UMNO and BN, these objectives will never be achieved. On the other hand, they may think of us in Pakatan Rakyat as “instant noodle leaders,” but at least we are not relegated to mere community work. Instead, we are given the opportunities to continually push the boundaries through effective political participation, and hence ensuring the voice of young Malaysian women is represented and accounted for.