When would a Malaysian woman do Malaysia proud, in the way that Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indfrawati has done Indonesia proud in receiving the Best Minister Award at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Sunday.

Sri Mulyani was credited with achieving “tangible results in reducing poverty, improving the standard of living, reducing public debt and boosting the transparency of public institutions” as Indonesia’s Finance Minister since 2016 under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

She was also recognised for her efforts to “fight corruption and increase transparency in government.”

Sri Mulyani was formerly the World Bank’s Managing Director. She previously served as finance minister from 2005 to 2010 and is credited with steering Indonesia through the Global Financial Crisis.

The selection process for the Best Minister award was undertaken by independent consultancy Ernst & Young based upon ministers’ leadership, innovation, the social and economic impacts and reputation.

Do we have a woman Minister in Malaysia who could be a candidate for the Best Minister Award?

Malaysians shudder at the thought of Wanita Umno leader, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil as a possible future candidate, as she is making a comeback to Cabinet by contesting in the 14th General Election with her hysterical claim that she is the real “victim” of the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) “cow-condo” scandal and not PKR Vice President and MP for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli, despite his recent conviction and 30-month jail sentence.

With the RM250 million “cow-condo” scandal, Shahrizat is not going to be the woman who will make Malaysia proud on the international stage, like Sri Mulyani for Indonesia.

Malaysia will be in a better position to create opportunities for women leaders to make Malaysia proud on the international scene, if there is change of federal government in the forthcoming 14th General Election, with Pakatan Harapan replacing Barisan Nasional.

Malaysia is not short of capable women leaders of integrity who could make Malaysia proud internationally – like Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the newly elected head of UN-Habitat.

As Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Maimunah manages an annual budget even larger than the Malaysian Finance Minister, who is none other than the Prime Minister himself, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Former mayor of Penang Island City Council, Maimunah is the first Malaysian to be elected to the highest international office, as she is Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) – appointed at the level of Under-Secretary-General by the UN Secretary-General following an election by the UN General Assembly on 22nd December 2017.

She was awarded the Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award by the Global Forum on Human Settlements last October in Quito, Ecuador for her contributions to sustainable planning in Seberang Perai.

She was the first woman to be president the Seberang Prai municipal council in 2011.

A town planner by training, Maimunah started her career at Penang Island Municipal Council in 1985.

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 16th February 2018)