PETALING JAYA: A coalition of civil society groups has said that the biggest barrier preventing more women from entering politics is the reluctance of male incumbents to step aside.
The group, comprising 23 civil society organisations, five political parties, and several elected representatives, said while capable women leaders exist, opportunities are limited.
"Male incumbents hold on to their seats for years. This leaves little room for women to contest," the coalition said in a joint statement on Sunday (Sept 14).
They stressed that Malaysia's lack of women leaders in Parliament and state assemblies is not due to a lack of talent.
On average, women are better educated than men and capable leaders can be found across the country.
The real issue is that men continue to hold on to their positions, blocking opportunities for women.
This is a key reason Malaysia has failed to achieve the 30% target for women’s representation.
Currently, only 30 women sit in the 223-seat Dewan Rakyat (13.45%), while just 72 women hold positions out of 623 state seats nationwide (11.56%).
Describing the figures as "unacceptably low," the group said Malaysia now ranks 152nd out of 188 countries on the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s index, ranking second from the bottom in Southeast Asia.
The coalition also highlighted that Malaysia’s First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system favours incumbents.
Male politicians with entrenched popularity often resist being replaced, and some even threaten sabotage if replaced, which discourages parties from nominating women.
To address these challenges, the coalition called for electoral reforms by introducing a hybrid system combining FPTP with Closed List Proportional Representation (CLPR) that includes gender quotas.
Such a system, already practiced in Thailand and Taiwan, would guarantee a minimum share of seats for women without displacing incumbents.
At the state level, the coalition urged governments to convert existing appointed seats into "Women-Only Additional Seats" (WOAS), which could be reserved for women.
Another model, "Top-up Women-Only Additional Seats" (TWOAS), was designed by the Penang Women’s Development Corporation and is being considered by Selangor, which could become the first state to reach the 30% benchmark.
At the federal level, these reforms would require constitutional amendments and bipartisan support.
The coalition also urged political parties to field at least 30% women candidates and called for a Political Financing Act that would tie public funding to the number of women successfully elected.
"Women’s representation can only increase if opportunities are created through party structures and electoral reforms," the group added, noting that urgent action is needed to prevent Malaysia from falling further behind its regional neighbours.
