UM Feminism Club condemns Puad for attempting to justify gender and racial discrimination

UM Feminism Club condemns Puad for attempting to justify gender and racial discrimination





Letter to editor

THE UM Feminism Club (UMFC) has denounced UMNO supreme council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi for misrepresenting Kamala Harris’s electoral loss in an attempt to challenge retired DAP supremo Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang’s call for a “non-Malay Prime Minister”.

Puad’s effort to equate the outcomes of the US presidential election with Malaysia’s situation amounts to a misleading comparison that only serves to justify gender and racial bias.

While it is true that the US has yet to see a female president, it has already had a Black president and even nominated two female presidential candidates.

That Kamala Harris, a candidate with a diverse background, could reach high office in the US is evidence of progress in embracing diversity.

In contrast, Malaysia has never had a non-Malay or female PM nor even a viable candidate. Women remain significantly under-represented in the local political arena.

According to the 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, Malaysia ranks 134th in women’s political participation, placing it among the lowest worldwide.

DrPuad Zarkashi

on Wednesday

TANYA LIM KIT SIANG. APAKAH RAKYAT AMERIKA BELUM MATANG?

Wanita masih gagal dipilih untuk jadi Presiden Amerika setelah 248 tahun merdeka. Ikut sejarah, USA merdeka pada 4 Julai 1776. Apakah itu rasis dan diskriminasi gender?

Pertama dia adalah wanita. Kedua, dia keturunan India-Jamaica. Lim Kit Siang boleh tolong jawab. 

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Puad appears indifferent to issues of race and gender. By pointing to Harris’s loss as a means to rationalize the discrimination prevalent in Malaysia, he ignores the inequity of such a comparison.

His implication that equality will naturally emerge without effort is dangerously flawed. Gender and racial equality are basic rights that cannot be left to chance in a society still steeped in discrimination.

Achieving a more progressive society demands proactive measures such as legal and policy reforms to ensure equal opportunities for all to participate in politics. If society could evolve toward equality without intervention, why would we even need lawmakers in Parliament?

Puad’s attempt to compare Malaysia to nations that have already seen female presidential candidates is, frankly, absurd.

His example only highlights Malaysia’s lagging stance on equality. Without a single non-Malay or female PM in its history, Malaysia has little ground to comment on discrimination in the US.

By framing gender and racial equality as mere differences in “acceptance levels” between countries, Puad misleads the public.

Discrimination may exist globally but that does not justify its normalisation in Malaysia. UMFC stresses that Malaysia must confront its deficiencies in racial and gender equality head-on.

Only through progressive reforms can we advance toward genuine gender and racial parity. – Nov 8, 2024



UM Feminism Club
Kuala Lumpur