KOTA KINABALU: The current government sees women as strategic partners in national development, which means women are a very valuable asset, said Minister of Community Development and People’s Well-being (KPMKR), YB Datuk James Ratib.
He said, the role of women is very important at various levels of society as a contributor to economic growth, social well-being and national prosperity.
The participation and achievements of women in the economic, educational, political sectors as well as achievements in other sectors, he added, are increasingly significant making women capable of being competitive.
“Now more women successfully hold important positions and are given the opportunity to contribute towards the progress and development of the country,” he said.
According to James, KPMKR through JHEWA also always encourages more women to venture into more challenging fields that involve certain skills in line with the rapid pace of technological change.
“This is because women do not just need to come out of the cocoon that has shackled their functions and thoughts for a long time but must move forward along with the country’s progress in the era of global development,” he said.
James, who is also the Sugut Assemblyman, said this in conjunction with the Women’s Leadership Conference held at the Sabah International Convention Center (SICC) on Wednesday.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers for inviting me to inaugurate this ceremony and this is a tribute to the men who stood together with hundreds of women in front of me.
“I was informed that almost 300 female officers attended this conference consisting of Ministry SUTs, Heads of Departments and female officers from all over Sabah.
“I also understand that this kind of program is the highlight after the completion of the Women of Substances (WOS) Workshop every year. Well done to everyone!” he said.
According to him, this WOS Program has been implemented since 2011 to 2024 and has trained as many as 12 WOS groups that include a total of 450 female officers who have been trained under JHEWA.
“Now, a total of 8 out of 20 Women’s Department Heads, which is 40%, are among the participants of the Authoritative Women’s Leadership Workshop @ WOS.
“In line with the theme of the International Women’s Day celebration in 2024, which is ‘Wanita Dijulang Negara Gemilang’, the State Government always provides support and encouragement to female officers who serve in the government.
“This is carried out through the Sabah Women’s Affairs Department, which is a special program specifically for women’s leadership that has been allocated from the RM10th to the RM12th, which is the Empowered Women’s Leadership Development Program,” he said.
Meanwhile, James said that nowadays the success of an official in the public service is no longer judged according to seniority but according to excellent work performance regardless of age.
He said, there is no denying the achievements and the percentage of women as decision-makers has reached 30%, including the number of Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry and Heads of State Departments.
“I see that the performance of female officers in public service is becoming more and more apparent. Today we see that women have held important positions in the public and private sectors.
“Although the number is still small, it still proves that women in this country have a high level of competitiveness and enthusiasm,” he said in a ceremony that was also attended by former Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin or KJ who now ventures into the field as a radio presenter and a podcaster.
James added that the government realizes that empowered women officers are vital to national and economic development.
“The contribution of creative ideas from female officers in further improving the delivery of Sabah state government services in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) agenda must be continuous and progressive.
“The success achieved is not only as a housewife, it even covers all aspects including business, leadership, politics and public administration,” he said.
Speaking about SMJ’s direction in human capital and people’s well-being, he said, the development of human capital and people’s well-being is the second core in SMJ’s direction.
“I give an example through the Hi-Talent Program where selected youth will be placed as trainees in Government agencies to gain exposure to the world of careers and thus build their potential.
“Therefore, I hope that the Sabah Women’s Affairs Department will find this kind of approach in promoting women’s development in an inclusive manner,” he said.
He added that the government is confident that women will continue to take steps and organize strategies to develop the nation and the country in achieving its progress and inspire other women to be enthusiastic for success.
“Through this conference, it is also hoped that it will open up space for all from Government, private and non-governmental organizations to meet, communicate, cooperate, agree and reach understanding for the common good.
“Authoritative women need to have an identity in terms of holding, be contemporary in approach and have a high and professional leadership ability.
“Therefore, in order to realize it, women must increase their capacity and mastery of knowledge and develop as quality human capital who have prospects and thoughts that are committed to achieving and maintaining excellence,” he said.
James hopes that what was delivered by the great speakers at the event will be used as a vehicle to trigger awareness among women to always seize various opportunities in order to increase knowledge as well as empower themselves in this challenging world.
He congratulated the Director of the JHEWA and all the employees as organizers and he is confident that the organization of this program will invigorate the spirit of female officers in the State Government as well as GLC to always serve with full commitment and competence for the common welfare.
He also called for Ministries, Departments and State Government agencies to always support the programs implemented by JHEWA and that this conference can inspire women to continue to be involved in the development of the state and the country.
This, he said, became an injection of enthusiasm and a driver for common progress and further strengthened the existing commitment to continue to achieve progress for the sake of prosperity and well-being.
