KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Raising the participation of women in politics will be one of the priorities of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM).

Its newly-appointed deputy minister, Aiman Athirah Sabu, said while there is progress in appointing several women as ministers and deputy ministers in the Unity Government Cabinet, more space should be given to the group.

"The target of 30 per cent women participation in politics was set about 30 years ago, but until now, their participation at the ministerial level is still low.

"Therefore, our duties and responsibilities at KPWKM are to find a way to increase women’s participation in politics, whether through additional empowerment programmes or changes in policies or systems required to support the idea,” she told Bernama in an interview tonight.

At the same time, she also expressed her intention to solve community issues, such as poverty which could disrupt the functioning of the family system.

Earlier today, Aiman Athirah and 26 other deputy ministers took their oaths of office before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara.

She was among the new faces in the Unity Government administration announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday. — Bernama