Pervasive financial obstacles are hindering women's entry, retention, and advancement in Malaysian politics, revealing a systemic issue, based on a report by Projek SAMA, an NGO that seeks to deepen understanding of Malaysia’s dynamics and to develop inclusive solutions that strengthen democracy.
These challenges significantly contribute to Malaysia's ranking 152nd globally for women's representation in national parliaments, placing it second to last in Southeast Asia.
Wong Chen, Kelana Jaya PKR MP, suggested that parties could internally instil a vision in their constitution to produce more women candidates and strategically allocate resources, such as giving more funding to new women candidates to reduce the gender profile overall.
“I think we don't have to push so hard for government intervention, some level is important but not too hard. What is important is that the party itself needs to be enlightened to the fact that women play an important role in politics,” says Wong Chen.
Projek SAMA officially launched the report titled "Women and Politics in Malaysia Towards Inclusive and Affordable Political Participation" on 26 August 2025.
This initiative was supported by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), aiming to shed light on critical issues in Malaysian politics.
The report presentation is followed by a panel discussion featuring Beverly Koh, STAR Vice President and Wong Chen, which was moderated by Beverly Joeman, Projek SAMA’s co-covener.
Ngeow Chow Ying, Projek SAMA’s convener, presented the detailed study findings, which were based on desk research and in-depth interviews with eight political actors from diverse backgrounds.
The report showed that many women build their political careers through protracted and unpaid volunteer positions within party structures, incurring significant time, financial, and opportunity costs without guaranteed advancement.
“Our interviews also revealed that candidates contesting in internal party elections. They only relied on personal savings or some friends who helped them campaign their party elections and we got information that the campaign cost can range from RM10,000 to RM20,000 for a CEC position.”
“The financial capacity of the candidate is one of the important deciding factors we find in securing leadership rolls and this reliance on self-funding reinforces structural inequality because a lot of the grassroots leaders who are women, youth, or maybe minority members who may have very few financial resources can be from the get-go disadvantaged within the party hierarchy,” says Ngeow.
Party support for election campaigns is often limited and inconsistent, forcing many, especially those without personal wealth or strong donor networks, to self-finance.
“Our key finding is that insufficient and uneven party support for campaign financing. Now we know that election camping is very costly,” says Ngeow.
Ngeow continues, “Many candidates rely on self finance for their own campaign and support mechanisms are really inconsistent.”
“One of the opposition MPs that we have interviewed told us that she used 60% of her salary to maintain the constituency work and the research work and only maybe 40% remaining to sustain the family. And it is actually not efficient to cover the family household let alone saving.”
“This is something that is very worrying for her because if you don't have savings for many days it is very insecure. And we find that this lack of financial security not only places immense personal stress on women leaders, but also makes their political career very vulnerable to unexpected crises.”
“In fact she said that she's considering whether next term she will need to contest again if her situation does not improve. So without savings, many women find it very unsustainable to remain in politics”
The report also highlighted that women face greater challenges in fundraising due to persistent stereotypes about leadership suitability and perceived “winnability” which makes funders hesitant to invest in their campaigns.
The absence of a Political Finance Act and transparent mechanisms, like public funding for parties creates deep inequalities, often denying opposition representatives crucial resources.
Deeply entrenched gender norms in minority and indigenous communities, such as among the Dayaks and Kadazandusuns, pose strong cultural barriers to women's political involvement and hinder access to funding.
To address these systemic issues, the report puts forth several key policy recommendations, including introducing a Closed List Proportional Representation (CLPR) system with gender quotas alongside the existing First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system. This system would ensure more women candidates, reduce reliance on individual campaign financing, and improve access to funding networks.
Enacting a Political Finance Act with public funding is crucial to legislate transparent rules for political financing and reduce dependence on private donors, thereby levelling the playing field for underrepresented groups. A dedicated portion of public funding should also be gender-responsive, incentivising parties to field and elect more women candidates and promoting gender diversity.
The report concludes that the cost of politics in Malaysia is not merely financial but a systemic barrier that disproportionately excludes women. Addressing these costs through structural reforms, inclusive policies, and institutional accountability is crucial for achieving genuine gender equality in political representation.
This content is provided by Westminster Foundation for Democracy.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
