KUALA LUMPUR: Wanita MCA is ready to play its role in ensuring that 30 per cent of decision-making positions in government-linked companies and statutory bodies are filled by women.
MCA Wanita chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie said the party wing hoped to achieve this by next year, in line with the policy proposed by the prime minister in tabling the 2018 Budget recently.
“The proposals that were highlighted in the 2018 Budget also highlighted the government’s attention to women’s development by raising the female employment rate from the current 55 per cent to 59 per cent. Similarly, Wanita MCA has also launched a number of programmes to help women in employment and entrepreneurship since its establishment in 1975.
“This is because we firmly believe that only by having economic independence can women upgrade themselves and live independently. This is also one of the top 10 programmes that I have focused on since I took office in 2013.
“Our courses include confinement and after-care, e-commerce, baking, catering, beauty and business management courses,” she said in her address at the Wanita MCA 42nd Annual General Meeting today.
Meanwhile, MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan urged the wing to take the lead in encouraging Chinese women to actively participate in entrepreneurship programmes.
In his opening address, he said more women entrepreneurial talents should be developed to take full advantage of opportunities brought by the rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“The industrial revolution opens a whole new environment with great significance for women. In an era where machines can replace manual labour, the world should no longer use the excuse of a woman’s (so-called) physical limitations to suppress their development.
“Gender is no longer an obstacle nor excuse for an individual to progress. The opportunity and room for development among women will become limitless,” he said.
Ong added that in tabling the 2018 Budget, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced 2018 as Women’s Empowerment Year where several recommendations were highlighted to encourage more employment.
“Over the years, the number of women who are decision makers and founders has been increasing. The increasing involvement of women in the workforce is no longer viewed negatively; in fact, many have utilised big data in the founding of their own companies, becoming pioneers in their respective fields,” he said.
