At party congress, Wanita PKR chief touts wing’s plans to strengthen Shariah courts as part of reforms for better safeguards for women and children

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 25 — PKR’s Wanita wing is committed to strengthen the powers of the Shariah courts as one the pillars of the party’s commitments towards institutional reform as a federal ruling party.

Wing leader Fadhlina Sidek told delegates at PKR’s congress here today that the reformations will include the reform of civil and criminal Shariah procedures as well as stiffer and wider punishments to ensure justice for all parties — amid a national debate over the jurisdictions of the civil and Islamic courts in dealing with criminal matters.

“It is important for PKR Wanita to continue being consistent in championing women’s rights in the issue of domestic violence, child protection, citizenship of children whose mothers are Malaysian citizens.

“Advocacy related to sexual harassment and women’s empowerment in nation building are still priorities,” she said in her speech.

Wanita PKR also aims to expand access to education and improve the quality of education in the country through empowering Bahasa Malaysia and empowering the English language as well as Technical and Vocational Education and Training skills, added Fadhlina who is also education minister.

She said that Wanita PKR is also committed to strengthening the national healthcare system and its access for vulnerable groups, including mental and physical health screenings specifically for women.

The wing will also advocate for rights for the elderly through the Ageing Nation 2030 policy, she added.

Another commitment is the expansion of the field of social workers and community workers in order to improve the labour force especially in the “care economy” sector, she said.

She said the wing will fight to guarantee protection, legal defence, advocacy and rights for vulnerable victims or witnesses who are women and children in cases of sexual violence in the context of “court support” during court proceedings.

In her speech, Fadhlina also commented on the World Economic Forum 2023 report on the Asean region that found Malaysia remains on the bottom rung of the ladder when it comes to the dominance and involvement of women in politics.

“Even the target of reaching 30 per cent of female candidates in elections is also considered far away because only 12 per cent of female candidates contested in the 2023 state elections,” she said.

She said Malaysia’s existing political ecosystem and political parties were among the reasons for the low numbers.

Because of this, she said her wing will make Wanita Akar Rumput Madani and Run To Win regular programmes in the party.

She said the wing plans to intensify a range of other Madani programmes like food baskets, self love and learning to build a caring nation.

The 2023 PKR Annual National Congress will be held over this weekend at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre with the theme ‘Memaknai Reformasi, Menjulang Madani’.