KUALA LUMPUR – Parti Bangsa Malaysia today joined other leaders in slamming the Kedah menteri besar, who recently cast doubt on the ability of women to be effective representatives of the people.
Party president-designate Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin called on Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to immediately and unreservedly apologise to all Malaysians, especially women, and retract his statement.
“If he does not, he should just resign because holding such views is an insult to the government he leads, the state legislature which he is part of and to this nation,” she said in a statement.
Zuraida, who is also the founder and president of the Council of Malaysian Women Political Leaders, pointed out that Article 8(2) of the federal constitution was amended in July 2001 to prohibit gender discrimination.
Sanusi purportedly noted in a viral video that in Sik, the candidates from Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan are women.
“It is not that I’m demeaning women. But, in Sik, a rural area with many people in need, they would seek help from the wakil rakyat at all kinds of times.
“Will they be able to do so (if the elected representative is a woman)?” the controversial PAS leader asked.
“I don’t think so. At 3am (if they’re woken up by constituents seeking their help), we can imagine their hair would be messy.
“How are they going to help victims of floods, for instance? It would take them more than two hours just to get ready,” he said, adding it was “more appropriate” to vote for a man instead.
Women candidates Datuk Latifah Md Yatim and Maizatul Akmam Othman from PH and BN, respectively, will be taking on Sik incumbent MP Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman from PAS in the national polls.
Following Sanusi’s statement, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said that not only does Sanusi not respect women, he further insults and ridicules them as unfit for higher office or being elected as an MP.
Latifah also criticised Sanusi for his remarks, claiming that the resilience that women have is greater than men.
“That is why God allows women to conceive children. Try to take a coconut and tie it to his stomach,” she said.
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar also hit out at Sanusi, saying that his remark was a warning to women of their plight should Perikatan Nasional win a large number of seats in the general election.
“He has belittled women and has forgotten that there are some PAS women candidates in the election,” she said.
“Has he forgotten that PAS too has several lawmakers both in the previous Parliament and state assemblies or that it has fielded women in this coming general election. Is he saying that PAS’ female lawmakers and candidates are inferior to males and that they should drop out of the polls?
“We are wondering if Sanusi had just come out of a cave,” said Zuraida, who is also defending her Ampang parliamentary seat.
She pointed out that Malaysia has progressed far and has had a female deputy prime minister, while its chief justice is a woman. She added that many other women had also held key posts like ministers, ministry secretaries-general and university vice-chancellors.
“PBM is a party that strongly advocates women’s rights and empowerment and feels greatly offended by this statement. We urge people like Sanusi to stop insulting women and start treating them like the equal partners in nation-building that they truly are,” she added. – The Vibes, November 13, 2022
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