KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Women chief Koh Teck Wan has vowed to lobby for women to be fielded in the party’s traditional seats in the next general election (GE15).
“As women chief of SUPP, I will try my very best to fight for women members to represent our traditional seats as well,” she said commenting on PRS’ acting president Datuk Joseph Salang’s statement that the party would be fielding more women candidates in GE15.
“I welcome his comment and I look forward to see my fellow women comrades from PRS to be fielded as candidates,” she said to the New Sarawak Tribune here on Sunday (Jan 23).
On Saturday, Salang told reporters that PRS might nominate a woman candidate for one of its parliamentary seats in the general election.
“We are hoping to have a woman candidate. We don’t want to purposely exclude anybody.
“We will make sure that we include women in the electoral process,” he told reporters after the PRS’ Supreme Council Meeting here.
Meanwhile, political analyst, James Chin who is also Professor of Asian Studies at University of Tasmania said it’s a good thing that the PRS wants to field more women candidates.
“The problem among all Sarawak parties is if they can find the right female candidates to stand in the rural Dayak areas, these women candidates often face sexism.
“I think PRS should settle its leadership issues first. But I do hope they will field more female candidates,” he added.
Chin also opined that the party which should be fielding more women candidates was SUPP.
