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By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, June 12: The Sarawak government is committed to grooming more outstanding women to add to its list, including diving queen and Olympian Dato Pandelela Rinong and singer-songwriter Alena Murang.
In stating this, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan also listed other talented Sarawak-born stars, namely Dato’ Dr Madeline Berma—highly esteemed academician and Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM); Dato’ Tom Abang Saufi—renowned fashion designer; Fenny Nuli—Malaysian Ambassador to Peru; and Siti Hurrairah Sulaiman—the first female country chair of Shell Malaysia.
“We want to ensure that Sarawakian women have equal opportunity to develop their talent and truly achieve their fullest potential,” he said during the closing ceremony of Sarawak Women of Tomorrow 2023 Bootcamp (SWOT 2023) held at Pullman Hotel earlier tonight.
Awang Tengah, who is also Second Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development (MUDeNR) and Minister for International Trade, Industry and Investment (MINTRED), stated that based on the latest statistics, women make up 49 per cent of Sarawak’s 2.47 million population.
Sarawak’s female labour force participation rate stands at 51.2 per cent while the male labour force participation rate is 81.4 per cent, he added.
On women’s participation in Sarawak civil service and government-linked companies (GLCs), he said four or 33 per cent out of 12 ministries’ permanent secretary positions are held by women.
“The Sarawak government is committed to encouraging more women to participate actively in the labour force.
“As such, the government has established nurseries and kindergartens, such as SeDidik, to ensure that working mothers in Sarawak can send their children for high-quality preschool education while they pursue their careers,” he emphasised.
As of 2022, under the Women Leadership Programme, the Ministry of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development has trained 305 women leaders of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) throughout Sarawak.
Amongst those present were Deputy Minister of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Sarawak Mohamad Razi Sitam; Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd vice president Oliver Liu; and Women Leadership Foundation chairperson Datuk Dr Hafsah Hashim. — DayakDaily
