WOMEN SHOULD ENHANCE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL, SAYS PM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) -- Women in Malaysia should enhance their
intellectual capital in line with the transformation process taking place in the
country, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said.

He said Malaysia would undergo a massive transformation under the New
Economic
Model (NEM), and women, as the country's asset, should continue to progress
under the new initiative which was aimed at creating a high-income Malaysian
society, among others.

"How do we create high-income Malaysians is an issue that has to do with
women
empowerment, and the source of wealth under the NEM is the strength of mind and
the power of intellect.

"So the intellectual capital among women should undergo a shift and when
this
is done, when the transformation of Malaysia is completed, women will become a
true asset which we can be proud of," he said when opening the Women and
1Malaysia Convention here Saturday.

Also present were Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor who is the patron of
the convention, and Women, Family and Community Development Minister
Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

The prime minister said Malaysian women had achieved progress by leaps and
bounds not only in terms of position but also the sectors they ventured into.

"I am proud to see that Malaysian women are in high spirit and more
determined
than ever to achieve success; they are there in all initiatives launched by the
government.

"When I introduced 1Malaysia, they are there to support the vision," he
said.

This proved that Malaysian women were also undergoing a transformation
process
in terms of thinking and this augured well for the country's progress, he said.

This would be the kind of spirit that would spur Malaysian women towards
greater success, he said.


He said the government, through gender equality principles and the
1Malaysia
concept which upheld justice for all, would continue to provide as wide an
opportunity as possible for women to achieve success.

The one-day seminar, themed "Empowering Women Through 1Malaysia", comprised
three parallel sessions each for teenagers, professional women and civil society
organisations.

-- BERNAMA