Page 25 - E-BOOK PULSE@FASS ISU NO.02/2023

S
T
G
PP O S T G R A D U A T E
POSTGRADUATE
O
R
A
T
E
A
D
U
Trip to the Parliament
and economic sectors. YB Yeo Bee Yin was one of the
leaders she helped groom. Yeo was a leader in her women’s
community center and showed potential even then. YB
Rodziah also invited us to attend the launch of the “Toolkit
for Parliamentarians: Promoting counter-narratives to hate
towards migrants and refugees in Malaysia” where she was
delivering a speech.
Also present at the launch were Tan Sri Dato’ Johari Bin
Abdul, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, chairperson of the
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) YB
Wong Chen, YB Syerleena Abdul Rashid and YB William
Leong, all of whom gave rousing speeches about the need
to mobilise all MPs to speak out against hate speech
Dr Ruhana Padzil and us with YB Rodziah Ismail after our meeting towards refugees and migrants to counter erroneous and
with her at the Parliament - The sharing session with YB Rodziah harmful perceptions, stereotypes and disinformation
Ismail was really interesting. She engaged with us and shared a bit
about her journey in politics and her vision. among society about refugees and migrants.
The students were also fortunate to meet briefly with the
Women, Family and Community Development Minister
Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri. Although she was too busy to chat
with the students, she did take out time to share a few
thoughts – among them was her intent of making it clear to
her colleagues and Malaysians that gender issues don’t
ONLY come under the purview of her ministry but all other
ministries. It has to be mainstreamed in all programmes and
policies.

The students also got to speak at length with Deputy
Minister Aiman Athirah Sabu who was very candid about
YB Aiman Athirah Sabu was kind enough to spend a long time her history in politics – why she moved from PAS to Amanah
answering all our questions and talking about her political career. – as well as her current portfolio in the ministry. Instilling
On June 8, a group of students from AQD7011 feminist values among the PTDs, she shared, is a major
(Engendering Politics and Women’s Movements) made a challenge that the ministry hopes to work on. YB Aiman also
trip to the parliament as part of our class activity. The point talked about the challenges in getting more women to
of the visit was to speak to women lawmakers and to hear participate in politics, alluding to the challenges women
their experiences in fighting for the rights of face when they are in politics as well as gender stereotypes
women/equality for women through their capacities as that reinforce the false idea that politics is not a place for
Members of Parliament, etc. women. She also spoke about the role of social media in
platforming issues and for women to be more visible and
The students met with the MP for Ampang, YB Rodziah even got Davina, a student, to show her how to do a TikTok
Ismail who shared her experiences in politics, the live.
challenges she faced/faces, how she continues to fight for
the empowerment of women in a very patriarchal system The students got to briefly observe a parliamentary sitting
and lobby for women’s rights and law reform in parliament. and it was invigorating. A few commented that all students
YB Rodziah took time to know the background of the should visit parliament at some point since it is a good way
students as she shared her vision for women in Malaysia – to get Malaysians invested in the politics of their
in society as well as in politics. country/communities. It also showed the importance of
direct engagement for both policymakers and the public.
She also talked about her work in the community through All the MPs were interested in the Master of Gender Studies
the Women Empowerment Centre (PWB) she set up as a programme and even floated the idea of sending some of
hub to empower women with the knowledge and skills to their officers to take the course or similar courses on gender
become leaders to encourage their entry into the public training/mainstreaming.
25 | Pulse@FASS