Video short on the impact of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) in Malaysia

Women’s Candidacy Initiative (WCI) strongly condemns the violence and aggression demonstrated by the disruptive participants of the dialogue between the Selangor government and Section 23 Shah Alam residents on 5 September 2009. The creation of spaces and processes for open dialogue is a key principle of democratic participation. However, these individuals are aiming to shut down dialogue and push for decision-making in their favour through intimidation, aggression and threats of violence. WCI clearly and incontrovertibly reject such tactics and behaviour in democratic processes.

The threat of rape towards a public official must be taken as a serious violation. Rape is a systemic and critical issue in this country that we are all fighting to eliminate. Such threats not only displays open disregard for a grave national issue, it perpetuates the control of women’s rights and through violence and violation. This perpetuates a culture of sexism, fear and violence in our democratic system, which presents further barriers to women’s political participation and great harm to the inviolability of our country’s democracy.

The individual who made the threat of rape against YB Rodziah must be held accountable for his action. He must be charged according to the rule of law. WCI does not tolerate violence against women in our democratic processes.

Jac sm Kee
Women’s Candidacy Initiative

Hafiz Noor Shams broaches an important but complex topic when he addresses the merits of a gender-based quota system. While we commend his call for the empowerment of women we regret his vagueness over it, neglecting to give any concrete positive suggestions. Meanwhile, Hafiz recommends against a quota system for women because, he thinks, such quotas undermine meritocracy, prevent the best talent from rising, and that racial/ethnic quotas have been damaging to Malaysia.

WCI is of the view, however, that a gender-based quota system can help ensure that effective mechanisms are in place to support and encourage women’s role in politics. WCI regards the current systems and structures through which politicians are unearthed and promoted as often /undermining/ the meritocratic advancement of certain groups including women. From the excessive election deposits, to party nomination mechanisms and cultures, to the very nature of Malaysia’s electoral system (which in effect, hampers independent candidates and special interest parties), women’s participation in politics is hindered. A quota system would force parties to address those aspects of Malaysian politics which has for too long barred many talented women from surfacing, hindered women representing the rakyat in closer proportions to Malaysia’s demographics, and provided too few women role-models to inspire younger women and girls to entering politics. This is why when quota systems are implemented to overcome the effects of past and current practices of discrimination, they are considered affirmative actions and temporary special measures.

The comparison with racial/ethnic quota systems is a spurious one as it assumes that the problem is with quotas per se and not the abuse in implementation and exploitation of them. Scholars around the world are practically unanimous in advocating for quotas for the representation of under-privileged groups and thus it is less the quota per se, but the manner and duration of its execution which is to be questioned and which is rightly questioned in the Malaysian context.

Gender quotas are an important step in redressing the marginalized place of women in politics in Malaysia and the circumstances and structures that enable it.

Julian C. H. Lee
Women’s Candidacy Initiatives (WCI)

The recent political campaigns of the upcoming Batang Ai by-elections had generated much attention to the socio-political problems faced by the communities in Sarawak. It was reported that the State Land and Survey Department of Sarawak is currently conducting a census in Batang Ai resettlement area to resolve the long-standing issue of land titles.

Obviously, this census had come in too late. The communities in Batang Ai were displaced by the construction of the Batang Ai hydro-electric dam in 1982. It is only after 27 years the Sarawak government started to pay attention to this long-standing problem. Such action is likely to have mooted by the interest of the BN government to garner more votes in the 8 April Batang Ai by-elections.

Sex disaggregated data is needed. What of many situations that make women in Sarawak more vulnerable to poverty, conflict, displacement, abuse and rape? For the last few decades, the livelihood and social status of women in Sarawak have been largely affected or even threatened by logging, oil palm plantations, and hydroelectric dam construction. Their struggle to gain control of the non-timber forest products had often been ignored in the mainstream politics.

Among the problems they face, dispute over native customary land ownership is of paramount importance. Many tribal women have lost their ownership to their land because their customary rights to land were not recognized by the authorities. Even if land titles were given to the communities in resettlement area, often men were identified as the sole owner of the land.

With the 12 newly proposed hydro-electric dams project in Sarawak, the anticipated concerns of women would probably be the destruction to the environment, displacement of thousands of native people and its impact on the livelihood of the native women. Again, no proper consultancy with the communities has been carried out prior to the approval of these projects, this has rendered the whole planning and development process undemocratic and unaccountable to the affected communities especially the native women. At the same time, native women in Sarawak are also challenged by the problems in the area of registration of birth certificate, sexual assault, rape and violence.

Wong Yuen Mei and Angela Kuga Thas
Women’s Candidacy Initiative (WCI)

Her commitment to eradicate discrimination is evident from the diversity of issues and communities that she has worked with. From poverty alleviation during her time with Community Aid Abroad, to land issues with United Nations Development Programme, to social issues affecting Muslim communities, to concerns related to the environment, equitable transportation, sustainable development and disaster management at various capacities and contexts, to working on health issues with vulnerable groups like sex workers and transgender communities, Toni Kasim has devoted a large part of her life making the connections between needs for institutional and social change with the lived realities of everyday people.

Toni Kasim firmly holds that it is important to address any issue in particular in its entirety. This includes understanding that basic rights belong to every person and transcends identity, geographical or economic boundaries, and that each individual concern is related to the larger society that we all share and inhabit. She demonstrates this by advocating for the right of migrants and refugees both within and outside of Malaysia. While providing immediate support to affected groups of people during situations of need is important – something she is familiar with having volunteered a significant amount of time and resources helping violence against women survivors and also providing help during the Tsunami crisis in Aceh – Toni Kasim also believes in raising awareness and capacity building for greater and long lasting change.

At the heart of her fight for common justice lies a conviction in gender equality. She has consistently advocated for reform in laws, policies and government-led services that discriminated against women in different ways, and have held key positions in various women’s rights organisations and initiatives. As stated by Toni Kasim in one interview, “Women’s rights remain my key thrust because of something I learnt a long time ago. If women are empowered, the whole community eventually moves forward. It’s that simple because as the nucleus of a family and community, it makes no sense to sideline or ignore women.”

Toni Kasim ran as the first independent women’s parliamentary candidate in the 1999 General Elections on a gender platform. Instead of narrowing her advocacy to political party priorities, Toni Kasim raised issues that reverberated across communities and constituents, such as discriminatory laws, health issues, employment and wealth distribution.

A tireless leader, Toni Kasim has devoted much of her life advancing the rights of diverse communities in Malaysia, and no one’s reality is too marginal to be captured in her advocacy for collective justice.

Toni Kasim passed away from cancer on June 4, 2008.

• We are concretising the idea of setting up our Resource Centre out of which we hope to run our programmes.
• We will be conducting trainings and seminars on women and decision-making and on “knowing your rights”.

To this end, we have engaged in several activities, including trainings and talks in our efforts to highlight women’s issues and concerns, and also issues of women and political participation.

• Leafletting
  We have so far printed two leaflets with information on the issues confronting society, especially women. The leaflets have been used for our leafletting activities and general distribution as far up to the northern states of Malaysia and carried in the alternative press. Our groundwork has given us a lot of feedback on the issues faced by women in various areas.

• Seminars
  WCI organised a national seminar, ” Distribution of National Wealth, Do Women Have a Say?”, to which senior women members from the various alternative political parties, plus two members of the WCI, were invited to speak at.We are also regularly invited to give talks at seminars and forums. Examples of these include:
  • JUST Forum on “Malaysia at the Crossroads”.
  • Site visit and meeting with families from a small town badly affected by the deadly Nipah virus, by the Malaysian Council of Graduates.
  • Speaking on Women in Politics at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.
  • May Day at Kampung Sungai Nipah, a urban pioneer village that has since been forcibly evicted and demolished.

This has now developed into an email discussion and group for volunteers. The WCI2 Volunteers e-group is a volunteer group of women and men who believe that the political participation of women at every level of decision-making is vital to advancing and upholding the rights of women and to better represent their concerns.

To join our e-group, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WCI2_Volunteers/