Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan Sdn Bhd
MACC TO PROBE YAYASAN FIASCO?
BUZZ: The site of the proposed campus in Serendah. The UiTM campus would be situated next to the Serendah golf resort (inset)
PETALING JAYA: Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan (Selangor Darul Ehsan) will be seeking legal advice on whether it should lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against the Selangor government’s post-for-project decision.
Foundation chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Sakom told The Malay Mail this morning that the State’s directive to appoint Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Batu Tiga assemblyman Rodziah Ismail as chairman and trustee respectively along with two other State government representatives was a clear indication it plans to take over the foundation.
“The board of trustees cannot have more than six board members. As the State government wants four of its representatives on board, then it is clear that it wants to take over the foundation,” he said in refuting Rodziah’s statement that the State government just wanted to add and not replace the trustees (see accompanying report).
He also refuted a claim by Rodziah that the land bank under the foundation belonged to the State government and it, therefore, must get involved to monitor its usage to prevent misappropriation.
“The 1,642 acres of land in Serendah awarded to the foundation in 1995 does not belong to the State. We have already paid the premiums on the land and we own the title. How can she say that the land belongs to the State?” he asked.
Zainal, who rebutted claims that the State government had given the foundation 3,000 acres of land, also refuted Rodziah’s claim that the State government wanted to prevent misappropriation.
“The UiTM project is the first one we are going to develop. There is no way we have misappropriated anything as all the land is still an undeveloped forest. It is only now that we are going to start developing the land,” he said.
Zainal said the foundation had built 1,000 housing units for the poor on land provided by the State government or private land, other than the 1,642 acres awarded in 1995.
On Rodziah’s statement that the State’s involvement will allow them to assist the foundation on aspects such as management and administration, as well as planning of poverty eradication programmes, Zainal said: “We also know how to do management and administration. We have been doing this on our own and we are capable of doing this on our own. We have also been in the land business for 20 years.”
Yesterday, The Malay Mail had reported that YBK, and its subsidiary Permodalan YBK Sdn Bhd, could not proceed with the development of the UiTM campus because it had refused to bow to pressure from the State government.
The State government, it was learnt, had used the inability of the foundation to settle quit rent arrears for 1,642 acres of its land as a “bargaining chip” to get Khalid and Rodziah appointed to YBK’s board of trustees.
The foundation, which has had its numerous appeals to pay off the arrears by surrendering some of its land turned down, had wanted to settle the arrears with its earnings from the UiTM project — which is slated to accommodate 5,000 students.
The project was awarded a Letter of Intent by the Federal government’s Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in 2008 and Permodalan YBK was subsequently issued a letter of approval by the Hulu Selangor District Council.
The council, however, had stated that the project could only go ahead if the foundation obtained the final approval of the State Planning Committee, something that was never given.
We just want to add, says Rodziah
PETALING JAYA: Rodziah Ismail, when contacted, said when the foundation was set up during former Selangor MB Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib’s tenure, there was coordination between the foundation and State government.
“However, after he resigned as the MB, the foundation was left on its own and became like a private entity,” she said.
“Aside from allowing us having a say in the foundation’s programmes on eradicating poverty, it will also allow us to monitor and control other aspects of the foundation, such as administration and planning.”
Rodziah said it was also necessary for the State government to protect its own interests, especially in regards to land matters, as the State had awarded YBK a lot of land over the years to fulfill its purpose.
“As the land still belongs to the State, we need to ensure that its use is monitored to avoid misappropriation,”
she said.
“The State government’s involvement is not political. There is nothing political about this, nor do we have any personal interest in the foundation. We have no intention to taking over or replacing the board of trustees.
“We’re just asking for two additions: the MB as chairman and I as a trustee because I am in charge of welfare in the State,” Rodziah said, adding that the Selangor government had the right to do so since YBK owed the State more than RM5 million in quit rent arrears.
She does not see any problem if YBK wants to surrender some of its land to settle its quit rent arrears.
However, she did not address the issue of why requests by the foundation for the State government to accept this contra deal were not entertained.
On whether the foundation’s refusal to comply with the directive from State Financial Officer Datuk Mohd Arif Ab Rahman, in a letter dated Dec 7, to give the key positions in YBK to Khalid and herself had anything to do with YBK’s inability to proceed with its development of the RM300 million UiTM campus project in Serendah, Rodziah said: “We are very supportive of the development, but the issue is that YBK has not paid the quit rent on the land which it claims to own. If the basics can’t even be solved, how can we allow it to proceed?”
State government’s response
PETALING JAYA: The Selangor government’s decision for Khalid to be made chairman of YBK and Batu Tiga assemblyman Rodziah Ismail a trustee is a strategic decision to ensure that its resources are properly utilised.
A spokesman for the MB’s office told The Malay Mail yesterday that “everything was done above board”.
The State government, she said, saw this as a strategic decision as it had given YBK some 3,000 acres of land worth RM300 million for welfare purposes and that its participation would ensure that the resources were properly utilised.
She said it was not strange for the State government to be involved in the running of non-governmental organisations, citing the case of the Football Association of Selangor (FAS), where the MB sits as president since funds for FAS come from the State, as an example.
She said the directive to appoint Khalid and Rodziah is also not specific to these two individuals per se, but their positions as MB and State executive councillor in charge of Welfare will continue even if the current government is replaced.
Just the Lady for the disabled
RODZIAH ISMAIL, who is in charge of the Women’s Affairs, Welfare, Science, Technology & Innovation and Culture Committee says, “At least one per cent of government projects will also be offered to disabled people to ensure that they get a fair chance in business, too,” she added.
She said the idea had long been mooted and even practised internally but the announcement was not made yet to officially invite application from disabled people.
“Currently, disabled people take up only 0.3% of the posts in our administration throughout the state so we are at the same time offering education and skills training to prepare them for the posts,” she said.
Also, factories in the state have 18,000 jobs to be filled and the government had arranged for the disabled to sit for the interviews because they are skilled.
The state’s next step in improving the welfare for the disabled groups is to have a sign language interpreter at the front desk of government organisations.
“We also want the entire state to be barrier-free as we are having an increasing population of disabled people. So far, Selangor has 20,000 disabled people but many still have not registered with us.
“I would say MBPJ is the champion in making its city accessible to the disabled and it is indeed an excellent example for all other local councils to emulate,” she added.
Selangor Woman Minister met Ms Melanne Verveer US Ambassador -at-large for Global Women’s Issues
Yesterday at the US Ambassador residence:
State Assemblywoman and member of EXCO Selangor Government, Rodziah Ismail with Ms Melanne Verveer
With the US Ambassador
with Malaysian Women Activists:
Other story:
From The Guardian
French plan to force gender equality on boardrooms
• Proposal would turn Paris stockmarket 50% female
• Scepticism but also seen as ‘necessary evil’
- Lizzy Davies in Paris
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 2 December 2009 21.51 GMT
Nicolas Sarkozy’s centre-right party has put forward legislation that would see women make up half the figures in France’s leading boardrooms by 2015, under a bold plan to impose gender equality on the male-dominated business world.
In a bill submitted to the French parliament this week, all companies listed on the Paris stock exchange would have to ensure female employees made up 50% of their board members by 2015. If passed, a gradual implementation of the law would see businesses obliged to have women in 20% of board seats within 18 months, and 40% within four years.
Jean-François Copé, president of the majority UMP party, said it could give a “much-needed electro-shock” to the French corporate world, long considered a bastion reserved for the male elite in which only 10.5% of board members in CAC 40 (French stock market index) companies are female.
Referring to France’s move in 2000 to encourage gender equality in politics, he said: “We must do to companies what we did in the public domain a few years ago and impose parity.”
The proposals, which would also apply to state-owned companies and non-listed firms with supervisory boards, will be debated next month and would need the approval of both houses of parliament to become law.
Despite the historically entrenched opposition of business chiefs to quotas, advocates say the bill is the result of a sea change in public attitudes towards gender equality. Over the past year a series of French figures not known for their feminist stance have spoken out in favour of quotas.
Daniel Lebègue, president of the conservative French Institute of directors (IFA), said his organisation had reluctantly decided they were the only way of encouraging progress. Nadine Morano, the secretary of state for the family, has said quotas are a “necessary evil”, while the president of Areva, Anne Lauvergeon, recently admitted she had changed her mind about a strategy she nonetheless acknowledged as “humiliating”.
Véronique Préaux-Cobti, a leading businesswoman, said the discussions were a sign that times had changed.
“In 2002, a huge majority would have been against,” she told Le Figaro earlier this year. “Now, after years of good will with no change, there is a real realisation that things are not going to change on their own.”
Cope and the bill’s other author, the UMP’s Marie-Jo Zimmermann, are determined to capitalise on the change in public opinion to drive through the reforms. Inspired by the example set in Norway, where enforced quotas have led to 40% of director posts being occupied by women, they say they are willing to take on the “reserves” of several government ministers.
Their boss, President Sarkozy, was congratulated in 2007 for appointing seven women to his 15-member cabinet. However three of those, including former Justice Minister Rachida Dati, have since been replaced, giving rise to one news weekly wondering if he was starting to show his true “macho” colours.
France’s failure to impose parity on its politicians, despite a constitution change in 2000 which had the aim of giving women a larger presence in the French parliament, is one of the reasons many people remain sceptical about this week’s proposals. At the last election, only 18% of MPs in the lower house were women.
Françoise de Panafieu, one of those MPs, hit out today at her own party for setting out quotas for the business world when it had failed to put its own house in order. “I prefer people setting an example to those giving lessons,” she told L’Express magazine, claiming that Sarkozy’s party had had to pay €5m (£4.5m) in fines after the 2007 elections for failing to impose parity.
The Norway way
Norway was the pioneer in introducing legislation to boost the number of women on company boards, in 2003. The change in the law affected nearly 500 public companies, including 175 firms listed on the Oslo stock exchange. Ministers stipulated that businesses should increase the number of women on their boards to 40% or face the threat of closure.
It unleashed an uproar in the Norwegian business community, with many protesting it was ridiculous to shut down a company because it lacked a woman on the board. Others argued that the law infringed the rights of shareholders to decide who they want as directors. But the threat worked and company owners duly complied. Norway now has the highest proportion of women on boards anywhere in the world with 44.2% – up from 6% in 2001. By comparison, in the UK, 12% of FTSE 100 directors are female and one in four boards are exclusively male. Sweden and Finland boast more women at leading companies at 22% and 17% respectively.
The proportion of female directors among US Fortune 500 firms is 15.2%.
News from ILTC
ILTC MALAYSIA
INDEPENDENT LIVING & TRAINING CENTRE, MALAYSIA – (BADAN LATIHAN & HIDUP BERDIKARI, MALAYSIA. 76, TAMAN GARING 48000 RAWANG SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN. TEL: 03-6093 6292 TEL/FAX: 03-6091 2531 Independent Living and Training Centre is a charitable organization, which was formed BY the disable and FOR the disable to provide free services for their members who are living throughout the county.
Friday, 27 November 2009
Flash News
Carol is reported to have fallen off her wheelchair when the van made an emergency stop.
Carol who suffered internal bleeding was rushed to the trauma ward on the fifth floor of PPUM where she is still in a coma.
CAROL with Y.B. Puan Rodziah Binti Ismail Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Kebajikan, Hal Ehwal Wanita, Sains, Teknologi Dan Inovasi. This Photo Taken on ILTC Organized “Charity Carnival Bazaar Food & Funfair 2009” and a Charity Show on Saturday, 4th July 2009 between 10.00am to 11.50pm at Sekolah Kebangsaan Rawang, Jalan Kuala Garing, 48000 Rawang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
Bajet 2010 berimbang dan memberdaya wanita Selangor
Kenyataan Media
Wanita KEADILan 11 November 2009
Bajet 2010 berimbang dan memberdaya wanita Selangor
Wanita KEADILAN merasa teruja, dan dalam masa yang sama terharu, dengan ucapan Bajet 2010 oleh Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim – khususnya yang menyentuh penegasan dan komitmen untuk melaksanakan dasar minimum 30 peratus kepimpinan wanita di semua peringkat pembuat keputusan dalam pentadbiran negeri Selangor.
Ia adalah manifestasi kepada suatu keluhuran terhadap pengiktirafan pemberdayaan wanita oleh seorang Ketua Negeri di Malaysia.
Wanita Selangor, khususnya dan Wanita Malaysia amnya, kini memikul tanggungjawab besar untuk bersedia dan layak mengisi ruang yang dibuka oleh Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. Ia sewajarnya melonjakkan usaha-usaha mewujud, membina dan mengembangkan takungan wanita yang berkelayakan bagi mengisi perjawatan-perjawatan barisan pembuat keputusan dalam Pentadbiran Kerajaan Negeri Selangor.
Pemberdayaan wanita adalah diperlukan dalam usaha reformasi ke arah pembangunan masyarakat madani, yang menitikberatkan pembangunan menyeluruh, sosio-ekonomi dan politik, dengan gandingan para lelaki.
Dengan perancangan khusus misi pemberdayaan Wanita Selangor oleh Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Hal Ehwal Wanita Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, Rodziah Ismail, Wanita KEADILAN percaya bahawa wanita Selangor akan berupaya mencapai ufuk-ufuk kejayaan dalam pelbagai bidang di masa mendatang.
Tumpuan utama yang lain, iaitu proses pembelaan dan perlindungan wanita di Mahkamah dan usaha pemberdayaan wanita berbagai golongan dalam bidang ekonomi amatlah menepati kehendak semasa menurut penilaian status wanita di Selangor.
Wanita KEADILAN mendoakan agar Menteri Besar Selangor dan seluruh jentera pentadbiran Kerajaan Negeri Selangor sentiasa diberi segala keupayaan, kesabaran, ilham, dan kebijaksanaan dalam mentadbir Negeri Selangor secara telus dan adil bagi memelihara kepentingan rakyat marhain.
Wanita Berdaya, Harapan Negara
Biro Penerangan
Wanita KEADILAN
RM50k for Penan cause
From left:
See Chee How (Lawyer for Penans), Jenita Engi (Penan Support Group), YB Zuraida Kamaruddin, YB Rodziah Ismail, Barubian (Lawyer for Penans), Voon Shiak Ni (Lawyer for Penans), John Liu (Penan Support Group)
Press Statement
YB Rodziah Ismail
26 October 2009
The Penan Taskforce Report , which was initiated by the Federal Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, was finally released after endless calls for nearly a year from many quarters of civil society and enormous international pressure.
The Penan Taskforce report was released to KEADILAN Women Chief Hajah Zuraidah Kamaruddin (Parlimen Ampang), after a demonstration by KEADILAN Women outside Sharizat’s office on the 8th September 2009.
The full report makes for heartbreaking reading and the report runs to more than a hundred pages. Testimonies in the report describe the widespread crimes of loggers or logging truck drivers sexually abusing and molesting schoolgirls them along their way to school. It outlines a common practice of forcing schoolboys to get down from the vehicle they were hitching on, while the logging truck drivers proceed to molest or rape the girls.
Another common tactic used by the loggers to hunt for their prey was by going to their villages, to buy food and later entice the girls and ask to have sex with them.
These crimes committed on the Penan community has been going on for the last 10 years and nothing much has been done to address the issue either by the Federal Government or the Sarawak State government.
Its a regret that some of our fellow Malaysians has to endure a life in fear and threats and the girls and women has been used ann abused for sexual pleasures , short of the word ” sex slave” only , by the influx of male workers from outside because of the extensive logging activities in their area. Girls as young as 10 years old were sexually abused and raped.
Rape is one of the worst crimes against humanity! Yet the Ministry had unreasonably withhold the taskforce report for nearly a year and many quarters has called for an explanation for the undue delay for the release.
Following up the release of the taskforce report, Keadilan women’s leaders led by KEADILAN Women Chief , YB Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin, initiated a Memorandum to Alfred Jabu, the Chairman of the State Cabinet Committee on Penan Affairs pertaining to concerns by the Keadilan Women’s Wing over the rape and sexual abuse of Penan girls and women in Sarawak as revealed by the national Ministerial Task Force Report by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development..
However, the whole team of delegates were refused entry into the premises to Alfred Jabu’s office by security guards, who closed and locked the gate to the building.
Alfred Jabu who is also the The Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister and Minsiter in charge of Penan affiars, has refused to accept a memorandum concerning the plight of Penan.
It has been seen that the Sarawak Government has not been responding well to the issue and we do condemn Sarawak Govennment for continuing to be in the denial mode.
Selangor Government has been following up the issues closely with the penan support group in Sarawak and has been very concerned with the seriousness and urgency of the matter and call for the Sarawak State government to be more pro active to look into the issue with urgency and to take the necessary measures and steps to prevent further abuse and rape of the girls and women in the community.
Selangor Government expressed their grave concerns and passions for the problems faced by the Penan Community in sarawak and it is understood that the member organizations of the Penan Support Group are planning various empowerment programmes for the Penan communities in Baram particularly with the Penan women and to assist the victims and survivors of the heinous sexual offences.
The Selangor government through the Women’s Affairs, Welfare, Science Technology & Innovation and Culture Committee had approved a fund of RM50,000.00 being Selangor government’s heartfelt contribution towards their good efforts which we hope will give the necessary relief and to spur other organizations and individuals to contribute generously.
YB Rodziah Ismail
Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Hal Ehwal Wanita, Kebajikan,
Sains Teknologi & Inovasi dan Kebudayaan
Kerajaan Negeri Selangor,
merangkap
Timbalan Ketua Wanita KEADILAN
An almost typical day at YB Rodziah Ismail’s office
the regular visit from representative of the grassroots…a few things to settle…
Waiting for a meeting with YB Rodziah Ismail…
Special visitor for a purpose…the N9 Women Chief of KEADILAN
Naim from Batu 3 office
With YB Khalid Samad & the Datuk bandar of Shah Alam
the meeting of minds obviously…
After all that and a meeting in the morning, YB Rodziah rushed to Morib for a program, where followed is another program somewhere. She stops when the clock strikes 12.00pm, but not necessarily so…
Ticking off the police…in style…
Trusting the police
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
EARLIER this week, while I was in the office alone in the morning, two uniformed police officers appeared outside our glass office door. One peered in. I looked up and smiled but my fingers were ready to sign in to Twitter if the police rang the doorbell. The officer who was peering in smiled back, and following some discussion outside our office, moved downstairs. Phew, wrong office.
Was I startled to see police outside The Nut Graph‘s office? You bet. In a climate where the state is clearly going after independent media such as Malaysiakini for accurately reporting on violent protestors and an unconscionable home minister, it’s hard not to feel a little tense when the authorities turn up. Imagine then what the Penan girls and women who were sexually violated by logging company employees feel towards the police?
According to at least one Star news report — and there have been many that try to explain why the police cannot apprehend the men who have been preying on the Penan — the rape survivors refuse to talk to the police. Well, guess what? I would have refused to open my office door to the police officers earlier this week. No prizes for guessing why — would you trust the police?
Whose side?
Penan woman, Mary Rahman (pic courtesy of Sofiyah Israa)
We shouldn’t find it surprising at all that the Penan women and girls refuse to speak with the police. After all, it’s these very same state-appointed officers who have consistently helped logging companies break up Penan blockades. And the same officers who locked up Penan men and women for trying to protect their land against logging companies could be the same ones who were trying to question the Penan women and girls.
Indeed, one of the findings of the Penan task force report was that the Penan have little trust of the authorities. And who can blame them. In fact, it’s hard to trust the police when they have done little to earn the public’s trust.
What did the police do when the cow-head protestors threatened violence on 28 Aug 2009 against the relocation of a Hindu temple? Nothing. What did the police do when a small group of peaceful Malaysians lit candles outside the Brickfields police station to show support for an arrested academic? Arrest them and their lawyers.
Mourners at A Kugan’s funeral, 28 Jan 2009
What did the police do when A Kugan was found dead in custody? Deny they were responsible. What have they done since an autopsy report found Kugan was beaten to death? Nothing at all to prove that deaths in custody will no longer happen.
What did the police do when thousands of Malaysians marched peacefully against the Internal Security Act? Resort to violent tactics to disrupt the rally and arrest nearly 600 people, including children. What did the police do when the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government requested for police presence during a 5 Sept 2009 town hall meeting to discuss the Hindu temple relocation that was likely to get rowdy? They didn’t turn up.
So, there you have it. At least half a dozen reasons why people no longer trust the police or its ability to enforce the law justly and fairly.
Not just corrupt
The last time my partner and I were stopped by the police for a traffic offence, the officer wanted a bribe. We ignored his request. Ours, at least the first half of it, is a common story.
The last time my friend had her handbag snatched in her house compound in Section 14, PJ, she was told that the police know which areas are hotspots for snatch thefts. And yet, nothing had been done to address the problem.
Sivakumar being dragged out of the House (pic courtesy of Sinar Harian)
The last time the DAP tried to have a dinner in Klang, water cannon trucks and the FRU were also in attendance to dampen the event and prevent any speech-making. And on 7 May 2009, during the last highly dramatic event in the Perak state assembly, the police dragged Perak Speaker V Sivakumar out of his chair and unlawfully imprisoned him so that the Barisan Nasional could install its own speaker.
If we were at Nasa right now, I believe the right response to this troubling state of affairs in Malaysia would be, “Houston, we have a problem.“
Not only are our police corrupt, they are inefficient. Hence, the skyrocketing crime rate, and the inability to protect the Penan from being violated.
Not only are the police inefficient, they are partisan. The police, it seems, will do anything to support the BN even though it is public funds, not Umno’s funds, which pay for the police force.
Not only are the police partisan, they use violence against peaceful Malaysians and against detainees, and watch and do nothing when other Malaysians threaten violence.
Anarchy
Seriously, it doesn’t need a rocket scientist at Nasa to figure out that Malaysia has a problem.
Crowd holding up placards condemning the police and asking for the IPCMC to be formed, on the day of A Kugan’s funeral
Question is, why won’t the BN government do anything concrete about it? Attempts to address the root causes of the police force’s corruption and inefficiencies have all been thwarted by the BN government itself. From rejecting the recommendations of the royal commission on reforming the police force to defending the police for acting out of line, the BN is clearly demonstrating what kind of police force it wants.
One has to wonder why. Perchance it’s for the sake of eventual anarchy? If we can no longer trust the police to do what’s right and to fulfil their functions, we can eventually expect citizens to take matters into their own hands.
Tantalising, isn’t it, if you were someone like the cow-head protestors, the ones the home minister defended. Without rule of law and law enforcement, what would we have? A nation run by thugs? That’s already happening in some instances. And I’ll wager that we can expect more of such instances for so long as we have the same government and the same police force. 
Violence against a woman
Profanities and Threat hurled at Rodziah Ismail, EXCO of the Selangor Government, Malaysia during the dialogue with residents of section 23, Shah Alam, Selangor. Evidently, there was no dialogue but a display of hooliganism and totally repressive culture of suppressing freedom of speech; an abuse of democratic principle.
The next time, the police should be called in to maintain order and calm, so everyone would be able to decide what’s best for the community after listening to all quarters.
DAP Penang condemns threat against Rodziah Ismail
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Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang | 130909
Jawatankuasa Perhubungan DAP Bukit Mertajam ingin menyuarakan kebimbangan dan serta mengecam kes keganasan dan ugutan politik yang semakin berleluasa di Negara kita. Jawatankuasa menyeru supaya pihak polis segera menjalankan siasatan terhadap semua kes ancaman dan ugutan politik serta mengambil tindakan serta merta bagi menghentikan budaya keganasan dalam politik.
Khususnya, Jawatankuasa mengecam tindakan mereka yang telah mengancam Ahli EXCO Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, Yang Berhormat Puan Rodziah Ismail, dengan bahasa kesat dan ugutan untuk merogol beliau semasa dialog antara Kerajaan Negeri dan penduduk Seksyen 23 Shah Alam di Selangor. Tindakan tersebut telah melampaui batas kemanusiaan dan moral serta berunsurkan keganasan. Jawatankuasa menyokong penuh YB Puan Rodziah untuk mendapatkan keadilan dalam kes ini.
Ramai ahli politik Negara kita pernah menerima ancaman keselamatan diri tetapi pemimpin politik kaum wanita secara amnya menghadapi tekanan yang lebih besar yakni, ancaman gangguan dan keganasan seksual. Dalam kes YB Puan Rodziah, seorang individu semasa dialog tersebut telah menghina dan melabelkan beliau sebagai “pelacur” dan juga mengancam untuk merogol beliau. Pemimpin-pemimpin politik wanita yang lain seperti Teresa Kok, Ahli EXCO Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, Chew Mei Fun, Ketua Wanita MCA dan Dr. Joyce Lee, AJK Wanita PKR kebangsaan juga pernah menerima ancaman keselamatan nyawa dan gangguan seksual. Di Parlimen, wakil-wakil Rakyat wanita terutamanya di pihak Pembangkang sering ditujukan bahasa-bahasa berbentuk gangguan seksual.
Kes-kes ini menunjukkan bahawa pemimpin dan ahli politik wanita bukan sahaja menghadapi tekanan kerja seperti pemimpin lelaki, malah terpaksa menghadapi ancaman keselamatan nyawa serta penghinaan terhadap maruah mereka.
Justeru, Jawatankuasa menyeru supaya mekanisme keselamatan mestilah dibentuk untuk menjamin keselamatan nyawa ahli politik secara amnya, tetapi khususnya, ahli politik wanita serta pegawai-pegawai politik mereka. Ini bagi menjamin suatu suasana politik yang sihat bagi mendukung demokrasi di Negara kita.
Kerajaan juga mestilah mengukuhkan lagi kedudukan kepimpinan wanita termasuk segera mencapai 30% penglibatan wanita di peringkat pembuat dasar tertinggi negara.
Akhir sekali, Jawatankuasa menyeru supaya para wanita dan semua Rakyat Malaysia untuk mengemblengkan tenaga bagi mengupayakan lagi pengaruh pemimpin wanita dalam politik dan seterusnya menentang tindakan tidak hormat dan kurang ajar terhadap kaum wanita secara keseluruhannya.
Chong Eng
Pengerusi
Jawatankuasa Perhubungan DAP Bkt. Mertajam
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