WOMEN A SMART PARTNER IN TRANSFORMATION, SAYS MALAYSIAN PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Najib Tun Razak said Thursday that
women are the catalyst to unity and a smart partner to the government in
transforming the nation.

The Prime Minister of Malaysia said that women were a role model and should
not be sidelined in the transformation process.

"Women must be given ample space and opportunity in economics and politics
because we cannot exclude them if we want the nation to advance. The chance must
be given for their potential to be realised as human capital," he said at the
national Women's Day celebrations at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

Also present were the Prime Minister's wife Rosmah Mansor, Minister of
Women, Family and Community Development Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Minister of
Youth and Sports Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

Najib said that denying women opportunities to move ahead meant depriving
the nation of 50 per cent of its growth potential.

About 5,000 women were at the gathering, including members of
non-governmental organisations and representatives of public and private
agencies.

He referred to the aim of having 30 per cent women decision-makers in the
corporate sector, and said that it was not a quota but a target that was
reachable because "women have merit and ability."

Najib said the government was striving to increase the proportion of women
in the workforce from the present 46.1 per cent to 55 per cent in 2015.

He was sure that the effort being carried out in stages would achieve the
desired result.