GEORGE TOWN: A previous proposal to increase female representation in the Penang State Legislative Assembly through the "Top-Up Women-Only Additional Seats" (TWOAS) system was shelved as it was mathematically difficult to achieve the targeted 30% representation, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Explaining the background to the proposal in response to questions comparing it with Melaka's recent move to appoint nominated state assemblymen, Chow said Penang's initiative was specifically aimed at increasing women's participation in policymaking.
"The intention then was to encourage more women to enter politics so that the gender ratio in the State Legislative Assembly could reach at least 30%," he said at a press conference on Wednesday (July 15).
Chow said the TWOAS proposal, which was put forward after discussions with the Penang Women's Development Corporation (PWDC) and other non-governmental organisations, involved creating five additional seats reserved exclusively for women.
However, he said the proposal was not pursued as achieving the 30% target was difficult due to the changing number of seats.
"If you add more seats, the total number of seats also increases, which means the number of women needed to meet the 30% threshold also increases.
"It became a moving target, making the formula difficult to fulfil," he said.
Chow said the initiative was eventually discontinued.
He stressed that Penang's proposal differed from similar moves in other states as it had a specific objective of achieving gender equality in decision-making.
"In Penang, the proposal was specifically about achieving 30% women's participation. Other states appoint representatives from all backgrounds and do not have that specific gender agenda," he said.
The Melaka state assembly recently passed the Melaka State Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 to pave the way for the appointment of up to seven nominated assemblymen.
The Bill was passed with the support of 23 assemblymen, while five voted against it.
