Women Should Enhance Intellectual Capital, Says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) -- Women in the country should enhance their intellectual capital in line with the transformation process taking place in the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri 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 on Saturday.

Also present were Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor who is the patron of the convention, and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri 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.