Malaysiakini
Najib Abdul Razak's latest slogan 'Endless Possibilities' only applies to men. In Najib's Malaysia, women face 'Endless Objections'. The latest victim is Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Her plan to become the first woman menteri besar for Selangor is being thwarted by Umno Baru and the critics in her own coalition.
In patriarchal Malaysia, women must prove themselves more than most men, and obstacles are deliberately put in their way. Many women know that if they put their minds to it, they can achieve whatever they desire. Have the people who question Wan Azizah's suitability, applied the same rigorous standards to MBs in other states? Unsurprisingly, MBs in the opposition-held states of Selangor, and Penang are subjected to intense scrutiny.
Did anyone ask if the Kelantan MB possessed the necessary experience? Ahmad Yaakob, the Syariah graduate from Al-Azhar University in Egypt and former teacher did not have a rough ride when he was chosen as MB for Kelantan.
Similarly, his predecessor, 'Tok Guru', who is much respected and admired, even by non-Muslims, and has been credited for PAS' increased popularity among non-Muslims, eased effortlessly into the role of MB.
The former MB of Terengganu, Ahmad Said, who many will remember as the explorer who met the penguins in Antarctica, and whose temper tantrums, just before his daughter's wedding caught Najib's attention, was not the first choice for MB, in 2008. In the Terengganu constitutional crisis, Ahmad was alleged to be the sultan's favourite, despite Ahmad's unpopularity within Umno Baru.
Did anyone question if Mukhriz Mahathir had the necessary experience to be MB? Sometimes, one's political pedigree is enough to silence one's detractors.
In 2010, Perak's BN senior executive councillor Hamidah Osman (right) was rumoured to be Najib's preferred choice for MB, because of her alleged role in persuading three Pakatan assemblypersons to leap frog to 'independence', thus causing the collapse of Pakatan's 10-month government of Perak.
If Najib had been successful in making Hamidah the MB of Perak, he would have been lauded for being progressive. What a wasted opportunity! Instead, Najib listened to the chauvinists in Umno Baru and chose Zambry Abdul Kadir instead.
In a face-saving gesture, Hamidah betrayed every woman in Malaysia, when she said that a female politician could become a minister, but not an MB. "As menteri besar, one has to meet the Tuanku, where protocol is involved, and one has to meet religious officers, and in such situations it is not possible for a woman to become the head of a state government."
This mantra is continually applied to women, who might accompany the sultan. Recently, Umno Baru lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun mentioned a woman's unsuitability to be the MB, because her menstruation would be an "obstacle for her, to accompany the sultan at religious functions".
No mention of women being ineligible
The news article on Hafarizam also said that in the Selangor constitution, an MB must be "a member of the Malay race and profess the Muslim religion". There was no mention of women being ineligible.
Dr Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz (right), a Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) Malaysia lecturer agreed that it was possible for a woman to be MB. "There is no specification in the state laws that does not allow for a woman to be the menteri besar. The main requirements are for the candidate to be Muslim and Malay".
Conscious of her Umno Baru minders, she cautiously said, "But we also have to take into account sensitivities and taboos in society, as well as whether we are ready for a female menteri besar".
Why is Shamrahayu afraid of advancing the progress of other women? Is she aware that at one time, women had great difficulty getting an education, let along becoming lecturers?
Najib became Malaysia's youngest MB when he was 29, in 1982. Did anyone question his suitability as MB, for Pahang? Did the sympathy vote, after the death of his father, a few years earlier, which made him suitable?
Last year, Najib took over from Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, as the Women, Family and Community Development Minister. Did anyone broach the subject of his ability to hold three portfolios – prime minister, finance minister and also women minister? Was he paid three salaries? How did other women gauge his effectiveness as a minister in charge of women's affairs?
Najib cares more about his public image. He craves status and power. Over the years, many women in employment have given up lucrative careers, because of expensive child care. Single mothers are neglected. The syariah laws do not protect women. Child marriages destroy the lives of many young girls. Sports personalities are let off when they commit statutory rape.
How did Najib transform the lives of women during his tenure as the Women Minister? He could not fill the quota for women in government. He lacked the courage and conviction to push through policies, which would help Malaysian women. The bigger disappointment is that few women complained about him being an ineffective minister for women's affairs.
Sometimes, those who blight the hopes of Malaysian women are other women. Wan Azizah is being savaged for wanting to become MB, not because of her education, her achievements as a doctor, her knowledge of the struggles as a wife, working mother and grandmother, but because she is Anwar Ibrahim's wife.
By the time Wan Azizah takes her place as MB, she will be battle-hardened. Being a good MB is not gender-specific. It is about leadership skills and the passion to engage with Malaysians, for one common purpose.
Another fear of Umno Baru and conservative Malays is that once a woman becomes an MB, the rakyat will also accept the possibility of capable non-Malays becoming MBs, and PM. That would be the death knell of parties based on race and religion, like Umno Baru and PAS.
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