Hetifah Sjaifudian (Indonesia) is a Member of Parliament in the DPR-RI from the Golkar parliamentary faction. Representing the electoral districts of East Kalimantan since 2009, she has just been re-elected for a third term (2019-2024). Dr Hetifah has been actively involved in campus organisations, social organisations, and NGOs. She graduated with a Master in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 1995.
Intan Azura Mokhtar (Singapore) is a Member of Parliament in Singapore. She was first elected in 2011 as part of the six-member PAP team in Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC). She was re-elected in the 2015 general election. She received her Master in Public Administration from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2008.
Wong Shu Qi (Malaysia) is a Member of Parliament for the Kluang constituency, to which she was elected in 2018 as a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP). Before entering politics in 2011, Ms Wong was as a journalist specialising in parliamentary and political issues. She obtained a Master in Public Administration from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2016.
From left: Ms Wong Shu Qi, Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, Dr Hetifah Sjaifudian and Ms Christy Tang at the session Women's Political Pathways: Experiences from Females ASEAN Politicians.
What does it take to be a woman in politics in Asia? Three prominent female politicians from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia shared their experiences and insights on this question at a panel at the inaugural Festival of Ideas—a four-day forum organised by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. This article excerpts highlights from their discussion, which covered topics such as motivation, challenges and advice for young women aspiring to enter politics today. The panel was moderated by LKYSPP postgraduate student Christy Tsang.
What motivated you to join politics?
Intan: I was one of those who never thought I would end up as a politician. I started out doing volunteer work at Mendaki and at the Singapore Children's society, largely working on issues that I was interested in regarding women, children and education. I found myself being called up during one of PAP's tea sessions and asked to join politics. At that time, I had just given birth and needed time to think it through.
So I discussed it with my husband and realised that when it comes to really pushing for certain policies or issues, volunteering can have its limitations. But when it comes to policymaking, influencing and shaping legislation, being in politics can really help to make a difference. So I thought, maybe this is my calling and is probably the next step that I should look into. And I decided to join the People's Action Party (PAP) two weeks before the general election in 2011. Like I said, I was never planning to go into politics. It was quite accidental. Because of certain issues I feel strongly about, this is probably the best path for me to push through policies or make changes that I feel are important.
Wong: I think I can do a lot more changes in politics than being a journalist. For me as well, I didn't really want to become a politician, it also happened by chance. One day as a joke, I challenged one of the opposition MPs: why couldn't they put up a credible candidate to take on the ruling party in my hometown? He surprised me by asking me to run for the seat instead. After much persuasion, I decided to join the opposition party. And it wasn't easy because I was parachuted into the party. And many within the party saw me as an outsider and didn't think I could contribute much since I lacked political experience.
But I felt, since I had mostly covered human rights and the minority issues as a journalist, I have what it takes to be a politician. Although I had written many good articles on these issues, I found the work was pointless if it couldn't influence the government to make a right decision. So I decided to push forward. Of course, the first step is to change the government and after 10 years we managed to do that last year—when the opposition in Malaysia came to power. Now the real journey begins.
Hetifah: I started my career as an activist and set up an independent and a non-profit institution to look into the issues of marginalised groups. I was a researcher but realised a lot of the work we did wasn't used by the government for policymaking, so it was pointless to me. During the 1980s, the government was looking for new women candidates to join politics. I thought: 'Why not join? I can use my data skills and research knowledge as a basis for the policymaking process.'
I was mainly involved in women's associations and focus groups before I joined politics. Now, it's easier since I'm in politics to engage these groups and come up with laws that protect them. I'm not just interested in getting more women elected into parliament, I want to see more women holding top leadership roles in government. That's what I'm aiming to achieve through my work.
What challenges did you face as a female politician?
Intan: Personally, I'm very fortunate because my husband's very supportive. He was the one who asked me to continue my studies even after we got married. So I would like to see more men do their part to support their better half because it is truly a partnership.
So I think that's one challenge. People always tend to presume that as a woman you have an obligation to take care of your family. And now that you're in politics, you're pursuing your own professional development or career. Does that mean it takes time away from your family? I think it's really about managing time and sharing the responsibility with your partner, in achieving the balance.
The second challenge is that people tend to judge you by the way you look. I wear a head scarf, therefore some people do stereotype and assume I won't be able to connect with residents of other races and ethnicities. So it helps if you can pick up the local language, to make people feel at ease. I have picked up a few Mandarin words so that I can listen and talk to my residents during the walkabouts.
Sometimes it's not about making fiery speeches but having that human connection that you have with people that will let them know, I'm here to work with you. I'm here to serve you. And I'm here to understand what your concerns are.
Wong: What a woman politician wears can become a big issue, especially during festive seasons. I had problems finding the right outfit to wear during the Chinese Ghost Month and Muslim Ramadan periods. While it may not seem like a big problem, it was a serious challenge that I faced. Now, I don't really care that much. I wear what I feel is appropriate for the event.
This goes to show there is still deep-rooted discrimination against women politicians about our appearance. I have personally experienced it many times during my early days as a politician. The discrimination is not only from men but women also do it. For instance, women use the masculine rhetoric such as body shaming to judge the appearance of women politicians.
The main challenge is for women is to push back against discrimination. I lost myself to all these in the first two years. So to prepare women to enter politics, we need a network. In Asian politics. most of the senior people are men. For women to seek advice, they need more female role models to look up to and form a sister network. We need a sharing circle to talk about our experiences and solutions to overcome some of the challenges that women politicians may face.
Hetifah: Women need to work on their confidence and need to be more motivated to join politics. Many women in Indonesia are not too keen to enter politics because election campaigns are not cheap, and they lack financial backing. There is still a lot of vote-buying in Indonesia, and that can be challenge for women especially to overcome. So it's a problem to recruit capable women into politics.
Therefore, women need to be quick learners and adapt to the political environment. And they need to be courageous because they can face many stressful and difficult situations while in office. I had my fair share of problems during parliamentary sessions, which had affected me emotionally due to the treatment I received from some of the male politicians.
What advice would you give young women aspiring to enter politics?
Wong: Women tend to doubt their own abilities. They think they aren't qualified for the job and as a result don't seize the opportunities when it's presented to them. Stop doubting yourself, you are as good as your male counterparts. Women usually tend to back off during discussions and think their opinions are not that good because I'm not good enough.
Female leadership should be different from men. You need to make your voice louder, do more work and you will certainly excel. And women politicians should strive to be gentle and be inclusive, unlike men who tend to be more exclusive.
Intan: As a politician you must be passionate. You have to find your niche areas, which you feel passionate about to advocate for changes in legislation and policies. For me personally, I am really passionate about parenthood and education issues. I am glad there has been some significant progress made in these areas in Singapore.
For instance, I put up policy proposals on marriage and parenthood. As a parent and a mother myself, I think there is more the government can do to support parenthood. Not just in providing maternity leave and support, but also for fathers to play a greater role. Due to the recent progress, paternity leave is now two weeks. It used to be just one day.
The other issue that is important to me is education. One of the areas that I strongly advocate and have spoken about is streaming. Why? Because I used to be a teacher for normal technical students—who are supposed to be the weakest academically. I didn't like the labelling because students develop differently. Now, finally after many years of pushing for changes, the government is looking at a more broad-based education approach and multiple pathways where students can take subjects according to the level of their competencies. So, have a passion and advocate for the changes you want to see happen.
As women, we can get things done not through shouting, not through violent means, but through convincing people. Women have a certain approach in which we are a lot more nurturing and through our gentle nature, we can get things done. I think our ability to persuade and influence is one of our strongest assets. We should use those skills to convince people, especially men in politics to make policy changes that are right for society.
Hetifah: You need to keep motivating yourself and strengthen your resolve. Every day, I celebrate my small victories at night. I want to promote gender equality everywhere across Asia, and research-based policymaking.
If you are a young woman interested in politics, you need to be mentally prepared because the journey isn't going to be easy and you will experience setbacks. And not all the people you meet will be supportive. It is critical for you to find a mentor—it can be a man also, who shares your idealism and ambition. In politics, being smart alone isn't enough. Being street smart is more important to succeed.