There is much understanding and tolerance among Malaysians. Whilst this is necessary to foster national and racial unity, equally critical is for her citizens to be gender sensitised.

Malaysians seem less equipped to deal with gender issues or to distinguish the necessity of acquiring this skill to ensure a gender impartial society.

Recent developments point to the glaring fact that much needs to be done. Take the recent debate on the amendment to the Islamic Family Law (IFL) as an example.

The manner in which the male members of Parliament debated this issue reflected an extremity towards chauvinism. The zero understanding towards the real purpose of the amendment revealed that gender sensitising the society, especially men, is set to be a challenge that must be dealt with as soon as possible.

More recently it was the 'capable' Works Minister S Samy Vellu.

In typical fashion, he had to put his 'foot in his mouth' with his derogatory statement of comparing toilets to new brides.

It was shocking to read Samy Vellu's comments that "toilets are like new brides after they are completed. After some time they get a bit spoiled. Even if you do not use them frequently, you need someone to clean them every 25 minutes".

While this long serving public servant claimed that it was a light-hearted remark, he should be cautioned that his remark served to reflect upon him as a bigot with little respect for women.

His sexist comments served as a painful reminder that gender bias is still an issue for the nation. One can only wonder what might have been playing on this veteran minister's mind for him to unashamedly make that remark.

Urgent re-education

This attitude of a purportedly responsible wakil rakyat has made Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's task of 're-educating' his cabinet members all the more urgent.

If senior politicians like Samy Vellu have no regard for the female fraternity, no time must be wasted in deciding his fate as the 'voice' of the people.

Lest Samy Vellu gets carried away with his verbal 'pyrotechnics' in Parliament, let he be reminded that recent developments involving his ministry have left the people with little faith in his capabilities as a minister.

Standing gallantly and engaging in a verbal tirade with the opposition is not the be all and end all task of a minister.

It was under Samy Vellu's 'trusted' hands that the country almost courted disaster when the newly completed Middle Ring Road 2 project was revealed to be disastrous, after it was found that 31 of its 33 crossbeams had cracks.

Then there was issue of the newly built Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Baru which was declared to be fungus infested, and which cost the government RM14.72 million to spruce up.

And Samy Vellu should not forget that despite the RM99 million spent on renovating the Parliament House, its women toilets are still faulty, as pointed out by DAP Parliamentarian Fong Po Kuan.

Problems like the above and not a display of bigotry should be the works minister's main concern.

Samy Vellu should spend more thought figuring out how to take care of shoddy projects under his ministry. He should recall too the poorly built school laboratories and the huge amount of money spent building 'nice' schools which ended up as white elephants.

The minister and his fellow wakil rakyats must not forget that politicians are remembered for their words and deeds. It therefore will be in the best interest of politicians to think hard before shooting their mouth off.

Paradigm shift

Politicians' indulgence in female bashing only goes to show that the paradigm shift of engaging men in a cohesive discussion to understand the essence of gender equality has yet to take shape in Malaysia.

A gender realised society is still a distant dream for Malaysia, albeit the many calls from women's groups and the many promises from Abdullah. The setting up of the Non-Aligned Movement on Gender and Development Centre for empowerment of women has unfortunately restricted its objective of empowering only women. Looking at the 'gender' ignorance of our ministers, it will serve the country well to equally empower the men vis-a-vis gender.

Such a centre should in fact play a dominant role in educating both sexes on gender empowerment and sensitise the men especially on issues affecting women, be it violence against women i.e. rape, sexual harassment or domestic violence. To-date we have yet to hear of initiatives undertaken by this 'ambitious' centre.

In the case of the Cabinet Committee on Gender Equality which Abdullah chairs, it has yet to exhibit its effectiveness. This committee whilst tackling issues pertaining to gender, can play an equally important role in educating cabinet members on gender issues.

From the "pyrotechnics" display of the IFL amendment, it is only fair to deduce that our male politicians are 'gender' ignorant.

The government, if it is sincere in narrowing gender inequality among its population has to start now to educate people from all strata of society through a non-discriminatory working environment.

There is no reason why efforts to educate the public on gender issues be delayed. For the longer it is put off, the wider the chasm to bridge will be.

JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.