
Empowering women in Sarawak vital to drive socioeconomic transformation, says Premier
Abang Johari (front centre) gestures during a photocall at the event. From left are Dr Sim, Awang Bemee, Johari, and Mohamad Asfia. – Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING (April 22): Women in Sarawak possess the quality, capability, and strength in numbers to drive the state's socioeconomic transformation, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said as women comprise nearly 50 per cent of Sarawak's almost three million population, their empowerment is crucial to address emerging socioeconomic challenges.
'Women from our diverse ethnic groups — Dayak, Malay, Chinese, Indian, Melanau, Bidayuh, Orang Ulu, and other indigenous communities — play vital roles in shaping the state's political, economic, and social
landscape,' he said in his keynote address at the 4th Meeting of the Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (WAIPA) 2025 here today.
'I can assure you that they will play a very significant and strategic role in our economic policies to be developed by the year 2030.'
He said Sarawak is in a transitional phase of achieving gender equality, which hinges on three key prerequisites which are merit, acceptance, and social intellect.
Women must be recognised for their qualifications and leadership capabilities, not merely granted positions for the sake of representation, he said.
'You are there because you have the merit. And this merit, therefore, becomes the key for leadership growth,' he said.
For the issue of acceptance, Abang Johari said it lies with society's ability to recognise and support individuals in leadership roles based on merit, regardless of whether they are men or women.
He said society will reach a certain level of intellectual maturity, allowing merit to naturally become the basis for leadership and recognition.
He noted that over the past decade, women have increasingly taken on leadership roles in Europe, particularly in politics.
Abang Johari said Sarawak has made significant strides in promoting women's rights, as reflected in the growing participation of women in education, workforce, and leadership roles.
'More women now hold prominent positions in government, business, and civil society.
'Gender-responsive policies and women-focused programmes have helped narrow the gender gap and allowed women to pursue education and careers that were once male-dominated,' he said.
He also pointed out that Sarawak has taken progressive steps by forming women's councils and committees to promote gender-sensitive policies, in line with Malaysia's broader commitment to gender equality in national development strategies and international frameworks.
Among those present were Dewan Negara President Datuk Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, and Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Speaker Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar. abang johari lead women empowerment
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Trump says China will supply rare earths in ‘done' trade deal
President Donald Trump says the US is 'getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%' in a social media post. - Photo: Reuters WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said a trade framework with China has been completed, with Beijing supplying rare earths and magnets 'UP FRONT' and the US allowing Chinese students into its colleges and universities. The United States and China will maintain tariffs at their current, lower levels following negotiations between the two nations this week in London, Trump said on Wednesday (June 11). He said the deal is subject to final approval by him and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 'OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME,' Trump posted on social media. 'WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!' A White House official said the agreement allows the US to charge a 55 per cent tariff on imported Chinese goods. This includes a 10 per cent baseline 'reciprocal' tariff, a 20 per cent tariff for fentanyl trafficking and a 25 per cent tariff reflecting pre-existing tariffs. China would charge a 10 per cent tariff on US imports, the official said. In a later post, Trump said Xi and he 'are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!' His post suggested China may have to restart rare earth shipments before the US agrees to lower export controls on key technology. And his comments left doubt about whether Beijing could negotiate tariff rates even lower. 'FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!),' Trump said. US and Chinese officials said on June 10 they agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and remove China's export restrictions on rare earths while offering little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade tensions. At the end of two days of intense negotiations in London, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the framework deal puts 'meat on the bones' of an agreement reached in May in Geneva to ease bilateral retaliatory tariffs that reached crushing triple-digit levels The Geneva deal faltered over China's curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. Trump's shifting tariff policies have roiled global markets, sparked congestion and confusion in major ports and cost companies tens of billions of dollars in lost sales and higher costs. - Reuters, Bloomberg


The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Deal ‘is done', says Trump, as China and US trade truce gets back on track after London talks
BEIJING: China and the United States agreed to revive a fragile trade truce after two days of talks in London, further defusing tensions between the two geopolitical rivals. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (June 11) that the deal with China 'is done' and that the relationship was 'excellent'. Hours earlier, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who led the negotiating delegation in London, called on the US to 'stay true to your words', and 'demonstrate good faith in keeping promises'. The agreement, which concluded close to midnight on June 10 in London, followed a roller coaster of rising and easing tensions over non-tariff measures, after both sides agreed in May in Geneva to a 90-day truce that sharply lowered tariffs on each other's goods. The main sticking points since May were Beijing's restrictions on rare earth exports to the US and Washington's curbs on the export of chip design technology to China. In a Truth Social post, Trump said full magnets, along with any necessary rare earth minerals, will be supplied upfront by China. In return, the US will provide to China 'what was agreed to', including allowing Chinese students to attend colleges and universities in the US, which he noted 'has always been good with me!'. Separately, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that the 'framework' reached in London puts 'meat on the bones' of the Geneva agreement, adding that it will still need approval from both leaders. He said Chinese restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets and some of the recent US export restrictions would be removed 'in a balanced way' but did not provide details. China's Vice-Commerce Minister Li Chenggang told reporters after the talks that both countries had agreed on a framework to implement the consensus that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump had reached after a June 5 phone call, as well as May's trade truce. He described the talks as in-depth, professional, rational and frank. 'The progress achieved at the London talks is beneficial to enhancing trust between the two countries, advancing the healthy and stable development of China-US economic ties, as well as provide positive energy to the global economic development,' Li said. Analysts saw the latest talks as positive. Professor Wu Xinbo, director of the Centre for American Studies at Shanghai's Fudan University, said he expects the US to roll back the non-tariff measures threatened or imposed on China after the Geneva talks, such as revoking visas of Chinese students studying in the US. 'As for the Chinese side, it may accelerate the process of rare earth exports to help resolve the urgent needs of the Americans,' he said. The May agreement was derailed on June 1 when the US accused China of 'slow-rolling' licences for exports of rare earths, which are critical in the production of cars, chips and other products. China dominates the world's rare earth supply chain, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of the global mining output and processing about 90 per cent of the total supply – a trump card Beijing has cultivated for decades. However, economist Bert Hofman noted that China's delay in rare earth export licences was partly due to 'bureaucratic inertia'. 'The process was cumbersome and brought issues for industries around the world, not just for the US. So it was not specifically targeted at US companies,' he said. Washington, meanwhile, activated its own levers on China. On May 29, it announced the revocation of visas for Chinese students and issued export control guidelines for AI chips, as well as effectively halting sales of chip design software to China. Chinese tech firms that design chips rely on such foreign software, known as electronic design automation. China's Ministry of Commerce on June 2 criticised these measures as discriminatory and accused the US of violating the consensus of the Geneva talks. Just as all the signs pointed to the breakdown of the truce, the June 5 call between Xi and Trump was widely seen as having reset fraught relations. This was followed on June 7 by China's Ministry of Commerce's announcement that it had approved a number of applications for rare earth exports, and will continue to strengthen the approval process for such applications. Even as the London talks were ongoing, Beijing strategically underscored its resilience. In a front-page interview on the official People's Daily on June 10, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei discussed China's technology and research capabilities, particularly in chips. The Chinese telecommunications equipment giant has emerged as a national champion for areas such as AI chips called the Ascend processors, which Washington has recently warned other countries against using. Asked how he feels about Huawei being under a blockade, Ren said: 'Don't think about the difficulties – just do it, one step at a time.' - The Straits Times/ANN


Malaysia Sun
7 hours ago
- Malaysia Sun
Column: ASEAN and China working together for a prosperous 2045
by Yuan Zhi The recently unveiled ASEAN Community Vision 2045, launched at the 46th ASEAN Summit under the theme "Our Shared Future," embodies the Eastern ideal of collective prosperity. This vision, rooted in the Asian traditions of harmony and mutual progress, resonates with Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for building a community with a shared future for mankind. A PARTNERSHIP OF MUTUAL BENEFIT While some in other parts of world are turning inward, China and ASEAN have been embracing partnership for mutual benefit. For 16 consecutive years, China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner, and ASEAN has held the same position for China over the past five years. President Xi's recent visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia have reinforced the time-honored bonds between the Asian nations and underscored China's commitment to strengthening ties with its neighbors for a community with a shared future. THE URGENCY OF ECONOMIC RESILIENCE The global trade landscape is shifting. Average U.S. tariffs on Southeast Asian goods now exceed 30 percent, and supply-chain disruptions have exposed the risks of overreliance on distant and volatile markets. ASEAN's economic future hinges on diversification and regional integration -- areas where China offers unparalleled advantages. As the world's second-largest economy and the top trading nation, China has been a stabilizing force for ASEAN through crises like the 1997-98 Asian financial turmoil and the 2008 global recession. Today, initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative provide ASEAN with infrastructure, technology and trade frameworks to boost self-reliance. THE PATH TO 2045: INNOVATION AND INTEGRATION ASEAN's manufacturing capacity stands to gain from deeper economic integration with China. Its economic resilience will benefit from more trade with China. And ASEAN's ambitions for digital and green transitions align perfectly with China's strengths in AI, renewable energy and e-commerce. Despite U.S. restrictions, China's innovative industry continues to develop at a miraculous speed, as evidenced by breakthroughs such as Deepseek. According to the 2024 Global Innovation Index, the past ten years have witnessed China as one of the economies experiencing the most rapid growth in innovation power. In May, China and 10 ASEAN countries have fully completed negotiations on the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. By modernizing trade rules and expanding cooperation in emerging sectors, China and ASEAN are creating a more dynamic economic future -- one that is more resilient against external shocks. THE "ASIAN MOMENT" IN GLOBALIZATION As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, globalization is experiencing an "Asian moment" and the world's focus is shifting towards Asia. The inaugural ASEAN-China-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Summit alongside the 46th ASEAN Summit signals the region's rise as a hub of 21st-century multilateralism. ASEAN and China working side by side will create greater resilience, innovation and shared prosperity -- essential ingredients for realizing Community Vision 2045. Editor's note: The author is a commentator on international affairs based in Kuala Lumpur. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.