The team, led by DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, handed the gifts to women present at the Parliament lobby.
(Source:TheStar news,Wed March 09 2011)
IT was a flowery affair at Parliament lobby yesterday with several women MPs seen distributing jasmine corsages in conjunction with International Women’s Day.
The team, led by DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, handed the gifts to women present at the lobby.
She said the distribution of the flowers was to represent the idea of the Jasmine Revolution in the Middle East.
“While I do not seek a revolution for Malaysia, I do seek reform in terms of institutional reform, reform of our judiciary, reform of our legislature, reform in our media freedom, reform in our civil liberties and reform in human rights,” she said, adding that without female participation in politics, the needs and perspective of women would be neglected in policy-making.
“Thus, we should be concerned about Malaysia’s appalling record of women’s participation in politics,” she said.
Earlier at a press conference, the Women Parliamentarian Caucus called for the setting up of a gender equality committee under Suhakam.
Its chairman Batang Sadong MP Nancy Shukri said the organisation wanted the Government to be receptive to the idea of a gender-responsive budget mooted by the caucus to ensure the development of the country would be fairly distributed between both genders.
Caucus deputy chairman Chong Eng, who is Bukit Mertajam MP, said that instead of making International Women’s Day a holiday, it would be more meaningful for the Government to adopt measures to create a better working environment for women by providing child-care centres, introducing flexi-work hours, legislating against sexual harassment at the workplace and seeking equal pay for equal work.
