KUALA LUMPUR: Reviving the proposed Gender Parity in Political Representation Bill to boost women's representation in politics will not be easy, says Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
Nancy told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 19) that the government is continuing to explore ways to increase women's representation in decision-making, including looking at approaches adopted by other countries.
She was responding to a supplementary question by Sekijang MP Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa, who asked whether the ministry intended to revive the proposed Gender Parity in Political Representation Bill, which had been stalled since 2018.
"This is one of the matters we are working on under our National Women's Policy. However, we can see quite clearly that this is not easy.
"Nevertheless, we will not give up. We will continue our efforts and examine how other countries have approached this issue.
"We will look at whether measures such as women-only seats could be considered," she said during the question-and-answer session.
In June this year, the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Women, Children and Community Development proposed a Gender Parity in Political Representation Bill that would require political parties to field at least 30% women candidates in general and state elections.
Its chairman Yeo Bee Yin said the proposal was aimed at addressing the underrepresentation of women in politics, with their representation remaining below the target.
The proposal includes enacting a Gender Parity in Political Representation Act, establishing a Gender Parity Committee, using existing Election Commission structures and introducing an incentive-based funding mechanism to encourage the nomination and election of women candidates.
Nancy added that political leaders' agreement and support were crucial to achieving the 30% representation target.
She also urged women leaders across political parties to work together towards the goal, saying the ministry continued to engage politicians from both sides of the political divide.
"We also need the agreement and buy-in of political leaders. If they are unwilling to give us these opportunities, it will remain difficult for us to achieve our goal of having women make up 30% of representation," she said.
