KUALA LUMPUR: Three Malaysian women stand proud in the Forbes 50 Over 50: Asia 2024 list, showcasing 50 of the most inspirational women over 50 from across the Asia-Pacific region.
They included Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Secretariat executive director Tan Sri Datuk Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, local lawyer-activist Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and renowned film director Tunku Mona Riza Tunku Khalid.
According to Forbes, the women of the third annual 50 Over 50: Asia list hail from 14 countries and territories, encompassing over two dozen work sectors, including fashion, pharmaceuticals, finance and many other areas, reported Bernama.
The daily reported that 65-year-old Sta Maria became the first woman to lead the Apec Secretariat after she was appointed to head the 21-member intergovernmental economic advisory body in 2019.
Sta Maria had served over a decade as a top-level Malaysian civil servant in shaping Malaysia's contributions to the global economy by first serving as deputy secretary-general and then secretary-general and lead trade negotiator for the country's International Trade and Industry Ministry.
She has also represented the region at the World Economic Forum and was previously a non-executive director for RHB Bank.
On Ambiga, 67, Forbes recognised the prominent Malaysian lawyer and human rights advocate achievements over the past year as she earned the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor and the Gandhi Memorial Trust Public Service Award.
Being the second-ever female president of the Malaysian Bar Council, she also orchestrated the influential "March for Justice" and chaired Bersih 2.0 as an outspoken advocate for free and fair elections.
A founding member of the Women's Aid Organisation, she now serves as the Pure Life Society President, a charitable home for orphans and the underprivileged.
She additionally holds a law degree from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom.
As for Riza, 57, Forbes recognised her for winning the Most Promising Director award at the Malaysia Film Festival 2017 for her work on the highly acclaimed drama film Redha.
Inspired by a true story, the film depicted the challenges of raising an autistic child and was selected as the country's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
She was also recognised for her 2023 film Rain Town, which became Malaysia's first Malaysian Chinese-language film by a Malay female director.
Premiering in February 2024, it was screened at last year's Vancouver Asian Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India in Goa.
Both influential films were made by her production house, Current Pictures, which she founded in 1999.
Meanwhile, the eldest on the list was a 112-year-old environmentalist from India named Saalumarada Thimmakka, who locals loved as the "mother of trees", and Indonesian actress Christine Hakim.
