Women leaders collateral damage as Malaysian PM Muhyiddin secures grip on power

KUALA LUMPUR - The Muhyiddin Yassin administration's move to shore up its position has been criticised for unravelling the previous Malaysian government's efforts to empower women leaders.

The Cabinet unveiled last month already saw less female influence in the highest echelons of government. Since then, a significant portion of those dropped from state agencies and government-linked companies have been celebrated female corporate figures.

The Straits Times understands that more will follow as the loose Perikatan Nasional (PN) pact seeks to protect its narrow parliamentary majority by installing supporters into government-controlled positions.

Already, Human Resource Development Fund chief Noor Farida Ariffin and Bursa Malaysia chairman Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen have been succeeded by men aligned to the new government, namely former MIC youth chief Nelson Renganathan and former senator Wahid Omar, respectively. The latter was former prime minister Najib Razak's economics minister and was part of the unsuccessful campaign to extend the then Umno president's premiership in 2018.

Another female Bursa Malaysia director Mariam Prudence Yusof was also replaced by a male candidate while Majlis Amanah Rakyat chairman Hasnita Hashim's interim replacement at the agency tasked with aiding the Malay majority and Malaysia's indigenous tribes in business and industry is Rural Development Ministry secretary-general Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus.

Former women, family and community development deputy minister Hannah Yeoh accepted these changes are "the nature of political appointments" but told ST that "it has definitely dismantled the progress Pakatan Harapan (PH) made towards promoting women of substance to decision-making positions" during its 21 months in charge before it was toppled in February.

Among unprecedented "first female" appointments by PH were Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as deputy premier and Chief Justice Tengku Maimum Tuan Mat, which Ms Yeoh, herself made the first woman Speaker of the Selangor state legislative in 2013, said "provided a platform for young Malaysian girls to dream and aspire to do the same".

Sources told ST that Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation chief executive Surina Shukri has been asked to step down while an expected cull at Muslim pilgrimage fund Tabung Haji is set to see veteran banker Zaiton Mohd Hassan exit the board. However, it is not known yet who will replace them.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rina Harun - who is also women's wing chief in Tan Sri Muhyiddin's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia - did not respond to a request for comment on whether the PN government holds to principles of gender equality and women's empowerment.

Although the previous government under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad fell short of its own 30 per cent target for female representation in policymaking, it had made significant progress in cracking the glass ceiling, increasing the number of female Cabinet members to five from three under the ousted Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN).

While PN has maintained the same number of women ministers and deputy ministers (five and four), this is sans the position of deputy premier and based on a larger Cabinet of 32 compared to PH's 28, or an even wider gap when taking into account deputy ministers (70 to 54).

The women's ministry has also been mired in controversy during the Movement Control Order (MCO) after advising women not to nag their partners, but to dress up, put on make-up, giggle and mimic the high-pitched voice of Doraemon - a robotic cat from the eponymous Japanese cartoon - to ease tensions at home while cooped up together.

This comes as domestic violence spiked since the MCO, which bars non-essential movement, was implemented on March 18. The Women's Aid Organisation saw a 44 per cent increase in its domestic violence hotline last month compared with February.

"The failure to commit to gender diversity in the leadership of the country is a setback. Only with more diversity in our top leadership can we ensure that public policies are inclusive, broad-based and attuned to the needs of at-risk communities," its senior research and advocacy officer Yap Lay Sheng told ST.