Gerakan greets ardently the government’s decision to appoint Datuk Armani Mahiruddin from Sabah as the first female deputy president of the Dewan Negara. Jayanthi Devi Balaguru, Secretary-General of Gerakan Wanita National said that there were never any doubts on the ability of women to take up leadership roles.

“We steadfastly believe that given the opportunity and resources women would be able to provide progressive and strong-willed leadership not only at the administrative and executive levels of government but also at the pinnacle of nation-state governance,” said Jayanthi.

She further said, “Datuk Armani’s appointment is one of the harbingers signifying the growing importance of having competent and determined individuals in key positions of government and this practice has allowed the people like herself be appointed to such a position not because one is merely male or female but because of one’s ability to carry out a task to the best of his or her abilities.”

“This is also the result of the government’s policy to achieve the target of requiring 30 percent women participation in the process of decision making. We hope that with this policy it will encourage more women to tear down the illusions of female inferiority and transcend beyond the notions of male-female dichotomy,” she added.

“These unfounded embedded truths are slowly being relegated away by a change of mental perspectives but it is still moving very slow. We have to move faster as the complexities of modern society and nation building is increasing furiously.”

It was recently announced that Datuk Armani Mahiruddin had been appointed as the Deputy President of the Dewan Negara, making her the first woman to hold the post in the 50 year history of the Malaysian parliament.