COMMENT The politics of seduction, strong men and perhaps excess testosterone in the DAP are redefining the feminisation of politics in Malaysia to the detriment of the many achievements the country has made in eliminating gender discrimination.

The article in its latest Bahasa Malaysia version of its newsletter Roketkini  mirrors DAP’s policy and its strategy for increasing only one type of female membership - the ‘awek cun’ or ‘hot chicks’.

‘Awek cun’ is a colloquial Malay term, referring to a pretty young woman, equivalent to the slang term ‘hot chick’.

“The ‘awek cun’ population of DAP is on the rise. Following the Teluk Intan by-election, more and more (of awek cun) are stepping forward to fill up the membership form for the party which has long been slandered as a communist or Chinese chauvinist party,” the article kicks off with much aplomb.

Influence and power

The presence of DAP strongmen by the side of its Teluk Intan candidate Dayna Sofya Mohd Daud at all times during the  recent by-election campaign period is indicative of the influence and power of the DAP male leadership.

 

The DAP awek cun strategy, like its Impian Sabah and Sarawak strategies, focuses on the capturing of votes in the 14th general election.  

In Sabah and Sarawak, DAP uses charity to influence poor, indigenous communities who do not have access to basic needs such as water and electricity. DAP has provided mini hydro power generators to some of these communities. Perhaps this is a better strategy than awek cun.

While political parties in this country use multiple strategies, such as money politics, offers of development projects, entertainment and so on to capture votes, DAP’s latest strategy of recruiting only the awek cun is an affront to all women in this country, as well as to the male voters.

 Apparently, DAP is assuming  that the male Malaysian voter is swayed by the awek cun - hot chick candidates - and not by the integrity and capabilities of women candidates.

Women in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia have contributed significantly to the politics, progress and development of Malaysia.

Throughout the country’s history - in the plantations and factories of Malaysia, in the rural interiors of Sabah and Sarawak, during the war years and in the ongoing industrialisation of the country - the contributions of women of all ethnic origins and ages have made the difference.

Women leaders in DAP silenced?

DAP, it appears is using a centuries-old way of  using women  who are “beautiful and bountiful” to gain political power. Women will continue to remain behind the throne and not as political leaders.

This country, it seems, will never see women political  leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country won the Fifa World Cup after 24 years, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Hillary Clinton, who may be the next president of the United States and the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Cory Aquino ( right ), Indira Gandhi or Megawati Sukarno.

DAP’s strategy of increasing women’s representation in politics through “hot chicks” also raises questions on the silence of the women leaders of the party on the issue. Were they consulted on this strategy?  Do they have a say in what is published in the party organ Roketkini?

In the development of organisational strategies, consultation with key persons of the organisation is critical for the successful implementation of the strategies. Were the current women leaders of DAP involved or consulted on the awek cun strategy?

 Change is needed

Malaysia dropped to Tier 3, the lowest ranking in the US State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons 2013. Women from various countries such as China, Vietnam, Cambodia and so on are being trafficked to Malaysia for the sex industry, on a daily basis.

A recent raid by police at a “venue” that offered football bets on the Fifa World Cup matches included a sex service involving foreign girls. The raid was shown during the national news on television and the outlet was located in a DAP parliamentary constituency.

The DAP should be a political force for the effective enforcement of laws related to trafficking in women and children.

To increase women’s participation in politics in Malaysia, a process of change must take place within the DAP itself that will reflect its political will to include all women, irrespective of colour, age and ethnicity, and not only hot chicks.

JOSIE FERNANDEZ is an Asian Public Intellectual Fellow.