JULY 16 — I disagree with the incredulous logic by Umno law consultant Datuk Hafarizam Harun’s excuse that women are unable to become heads of state due to their “period” as it will prevent them from accompanying the Sultan to religious activities. This remark which was meant to discredit PKR President Dato’ Seri Wan Azizah from becoming the new Selangor Menteri Besar, is an act of discrimination against women and will deprive women of their rights to senior government positions.

It is common knowledge that the chairman of a party will be given the top post in the government. As such, seeing that incumbent Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is going to be remove due to PKR’s infighting, the logical choice will be to field Wan Azizah as the first female MB. However, rumours say that the candidate to replace Khalid is not Wan Azizah, but PKR deputy president candidate Azmin Ali instead. If this is true, it means that PKR’s “Kajang Move,” which saw former Kajang assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh being forced to resign, is a manipulation of our democracy and proves that PKR has been lying to the voters.

However, it is even more unfortunate that while Pakatan is resorting to such tricks, Hafarizam had added oil to the fire by helping them make excuses that Wan Azizah is not suitable to be the menteri besar. Under such circumstances, it is clear that he doesn’t know much about women’s biological nature by claiming that Wan Azizah is unsuitable simply because of her “period.” His speech is full of discrimination and I am shocked by his ignorance.

MCA feels that using religion as an excuse to prevent women from becoming a head of state is wrong, and we condemn him for using physical and biological means as a qualifying criteria to discriminate women and deprives women from senior positions.

All around the world, we have seen many famous women leaders, even in Muslim countries, such as the late Benazir Bhutto who was Pakistan’s 11th Prime Minister, and former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarno, both of whom are outstanding leaders. Even the Islamic Republic of Iran has a former woman vice-president in Masoumeh Ebtekar, thus I do not see why a woman cannot be a head of state.

Although the head of state will need to accompany the Sultan of Selangor to religious ceremonies, but that is not the main responsibility of a menteri besar. Rather, it is to govern the state fairly. Thus, Hafarizam’s claim that a woman will have difficulty accompanying the Sultan when she “suffers from periods” is akin to putting his foot into his own mouth. I am sure that the Sultan of Selangor, who is an open-minded ruler, will disagree that the main duty of a menteri besar is to accompany him to events.

The BN federal government is committed to enhancing women’s role in becoming government leaders, and we will not tolerate any form of discrimination based on our gender. As such, we hope that Hafarizam will be more careful when issuing personal statements, as it not only makes him a laughing stick, but it also creates a negative backlash against BN.

Press statement by MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun on 16 July 2014

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.