00:00Nancy Shukri says the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry remains committed to
00:08nurturing women leaders in various sectors.
00:12We want to see real leaders, leaders who are making decisions, leaders who are creating
00:18something new for the country.
00:19Last year, the ministry debuted the Women's Leadership Apprenticeship Programme, which
00:23attracted over 1,247 participants who were mentored by 25 female industry experts.
00:32This year, the ministry is setting a much more ambitious goal.
00:36With an allocation of 5 million ringgit, the programme aims to support 5,000 future entrepreneurs
00:42and leaders who will be mentored by 100 industry veterans.
00:46However, Nancy hopes to see more women joining Perantis and stepping into the political sphere.
00:53There were only two that applied for a political leadership fund.
00:58One was from Tawau, Sabah, and one was from Penang.
01:02But I need to see more, because I want to see more of them to take over from people
01:07from us.
01:08You cannot be seeing me all the time, you cannot be seeing the same old women leaders
01:13all the time.
01:14Last year, Nancy said that while the percentage of women who participate in decision-making
01:19roles within the public service has surpassed 30%, the private sector hasn't reached this
01:24level yet.
01:26Now, she believes that Malaysia should disregard the targeted goal of 30% altogether and go
01:32above and beyond.
01:33We are not talking about 30% anymore.
01:36Actually, I don't like to have that limit, that ceiling.
01:40We should not.
01:41We should not, I should say, we should not limit ourselves.
01:45We should open up.
01:47Aside from Perantis, the ministry also collaborates with the Finance and Human Resources Ministries
01:52to empower women in the workplace.
01:55Last year, the government proposed an additional income tax exemption of 50% for 12 months
02:01to employers that hire women who are returning to the workforce.
02:06Talent Corp's Career Comeback Tax Exemption provides individual income tax exemption of
02:11up to 12 months to female professionals who previously took a career break.
02:17You know, when you get involved and participate more, engaging more, then without you realising
02:23it, you see that you are doing a lot of thinking and then participate in giving comments, criticising,
02:32constructive criticism for the country.
02:34Natasha Bius and Tan Chin Tung, FMT News.
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