Don’t Wait for Elections to Find Women Candidates, PKR Urged

MELAKA: PKR has been urged not to wait for elections to find women candidates, but instead to build and train them early as leaders.

Gombak PKR Women’s Chief, Ruhanah Masruki said, the effort to achieve the 30 percent target for women candidates must begin by identifying talent, providing training, experience and trust to them.

She said, women have long played a role on the ground by engaging with the people and mobilising the party machinery.

However, she said, questions regarding suitable and qualified women candidates will surely arise every time elections draw near.

“Are we truly building women leaders, or are we merely looking for women candidates when elections are approaching?

“Women do not ask for special privileges. Women only ask for a fair opportunity to prove their capability.

“If we truly want 30 percent to become a reality, don’t wait for elections to find women candidates. Build women, trust women, and when the time comes, give women the opportunity to lead,” she said when debating at the PKR Women’s Annual National Congress at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC), here today.

Ruhanah said, PKR already has leadership development platforms through Sekolah Wanita Keadilan and the Women’s Leadership Academy (AKW).

She said, training alone is not enough if they are not given the experience and opportunity to prove their capability.

“Leaders are not born because they are chosen. Leaders are born because they are built,” she said.

According to her, the experience of the Johor and Negeri Sembilan State Elections (PRN) also shows that merely giving women the opportunity to contest is not enough.

She said, the candidates put forward must be truly ready to lead and capable of understanding issues, debating and defending the party’s policies.

“Don’t give women space out of sympathy. Give them space because they are truly deserving.

“We do not want to merely say, ‘we already have a women candidate’. Instead we want to say, ‘we have built a quality women candidate’,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ruhanah proposed that the 30 percent target be supported through continuous leadership development under the Wanita Keadilan Agenda 2030.

She said, the goal is not only to increase the number of women candidates, but to produce more women ready to become State Assembly Members (ADUNs), Members of Parliament and national policymakers.

“30 percent is not the finish line. 30 percent is the starting point because 30 percent opens the door, but quality determines who deserves to step in.

“Don’t just ask how many women we have, but let us ask how many women leaders we are building,” she said.

Utusan Malaysia