Srikandi to field four women candidates
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Bersatu’s Srikandi wing is expected to field four women candidates in the next general election.
Its chief, Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun, revealed that her wing has submitted the names of the potential candidates to Bersatu’s state and central leadership.
However, she did not disclose the names and the parliamentary seats involved.
“We have always been asking for not less than 30 per cent (women representation in elections). But, we have to be realistic.
“Although we have good female candidates in certain seats, we had to let go of those seats since they belong to other parties.
“Nevertheless, this time around, we want to ask for four female candidates,” she told reporters when met during an event here on Sunday.
She said the four candidates are well known in the grassroots level.
“However, they still have to continue working hard for the people,” she said.
Separately, Azizah, who is also the Beaufort member of parliament, said she will defend her seat in the next election.
“What is important for us is to defend the seat. Anyone can claim the seat but it is the people who will decide (the winning candidate),” she said.
Azizah meanwhile wants Srikandi members to be more sensitive to issues affecting the younger generation who will be voting in the coming general election.
She said members of the movement need to go down to the ground more often to meet with this group so that they can understand the needs of that generation.
“The effort to get closer to this generation of new voters must not be something seasonal that comes when it is election time.
It must be continuous with strategies that will attract them,” she said.
With the automatic registration of 18-year-old Malaysians as voters, there is a need to get to know what are their aspirations as well as needs, she said and expressed hope that the Srikandi Muda Sabah will take the role in coming up with programmes that can attract the interest of this generation of youngsters.
She said this when officiating the closing ceremony of an IT course for Srikandi Bersatu Sabah on Saturday.
Azizah opined that courses organized to empower the movement’s machinery should be used to garner more knowledge and application of IT more effectively and efficiently.
She stressed that the participants involved in the course now shoulder great trust and responsibility in Bersatu’s struggle to reach out to youngsters.
Azizah also said that Srikandi Bersatu Sabah welcomed the statement by Umno Sabah Liaison Chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin on unity and cooperation being the key to Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s (GRS) survival.
Bung Moktar opined that GRS will survive if all its component parties work together as a team to meet the aspirations of the people in the state.
Azizah said, “The people have placed high trust and aspirations in the current government. Therefore, we need to show our gratitude to the trust by working hard to develop Sabah.
This, she stressed, would not only stabilize politics and the state government, it will also help to boost Sabah’s economic development and progress.
“Srikandi Bersatu Sabah wants this coalition to be a strong one that works together closely for Sabah. The future of the people of Sabah depends on a strong and stable government. That is the basis for the smooth administration and development of the people,” she said.