Tun Dr Siti Hasmah calls for more educated women to enter politics

SHAH ALAM - Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali - the spouse of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad - believes that the nation needs more highly qualified and intelligent women to dabble into local politics.

And knowledge, she stressed, was the most crucial piece of equipment that women politicians needed in order to succeed.

“They must be keen on reading and knowing what is happening around them otherwise, they cannot be politicians,” she told reporters after her interview session with Sinar Harian’s Mak Untuk Malaysia (Mum) here at Sinar Karangkraf.

The 96-year old said it would be impossible for a politician to truly identify what the people need if they were oblivious of current affairs.

“You (the politicians) must know what the people need and there is a way of getting to know that. You must be friendly,” she said.

Tun Hasmah was also a strong supporter of having young leaders in politics and urged those who were eligible to come out and vote for the 15th General Election (GE15).

“We must have young leaders because we are all getting older. We will disappear so they must take over,” she said.

She said the people who were loyal to the country had the responsibility to fulfil so that Malaysia could once again return to a peaceful and stable nation as it was once before.

When asked about her response to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s contest for the Langkawi seat, she said her husband had always wanted to offer peace and for Malays to regain their position as the majority of this country.