Daily Sexism

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 11)

November 29th, 2012

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

A defining moment in Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's political career was when she fiercely took charge of the dispatch box to address Tony Abbott during question time saying, "I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. Not now, not ever".

She continued saying, "The leader of the opposition says that people who hold sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office. Well I hope the leader of the opposition has got a piece of paper and is writing out his resignation".

She did not mince her words as Abbott moved uncomfortably, looking visibly shamed as she chastised him. Three cheers for such eloquence and boldness from a politician of the highest office to speak against sexism.

Yet, there are others who do not share the sentiments of Gillard as a feminist hero only because her words and works do not seem to match – this list includes Aboriginal rights and treatment, human rights, racism, views on war and the like.

It's important for speeches, laws and regulations to tally with reality, if not we run the risk of losing credibility. In that sense, I do applaud the move to amend Dewan Rakyat's Standing Order 36(4), to state: "It shall be out of order for members of the House to use offensive language or make a sexist remark."

In this case, sexist remarks have been equated to safeguarding the honour of women to quote the minister in the Prime Minister's Department, which should extend to both sexes.

Though a praiseworthy move, it is hard to take it seriously when questions of what constitutes sexism and who ultimately decides to take those found guilty to task are not clear.

Given the subjective manner of this issue and the absence of gentlemanly behaviour in politics, it may just become another sentence in a rule book that looks nice but does not do much. The question of parliamentary immunity also does not add weight to such an amendment .

There are two levels where there is a disconnect with regard to sexism in Malaysia. The first involves what is written in the rule books and how it is translated into policy – domestic and foreign. The second is what is written and how it relates to daily behaviour.

As a country, how do we weigh issues of sexism against the wise words of politicians? Clearly we do not lack in examples of the first disconnect. From dismissing the needs of women's rights groups to be active in Malaysia to twisting vile comments condoning rape, not to chastise those who utter such disgraceful attitude but to use it for personal political leverage.

Then we have politicians who have been found guilty multiple times of sexist comments in the court of public opinion, who confidently remain adamant that it's acceptable to be sexist if provoked. These are the people who get air time. Mind you, every day women are provoked by sexist behaviour, can we then retaliate without consequence, Mr Politician?

This leads to the second disconnect, how sexism is an almost default behaviour for many men. Comments on body parts, catcalls, hotness ratings, and valuing aesthetic above aptitude, intelligence and capability, are common place even in high office positions what more rampant in lower ranking ones.

It doesn't just end in the office, it is something women face on a daily basis, so much so there is a dedicated website that records daily stories of sexism by women across the world called Everyday Sexism.

It is one thing to want to increase women participation in the workforce by 55% within the next three years, or pushing for more female representation in director positions, all this is secondary to how women are treated and how men are raised.

Fighting for the principle to respect women may seem noble but on the flip side it shows how unequal our society truly is.

Inequality is clearly not just a serious issue in Malaysia alone, even former French justice minister Rachida Dati is defined more by her personal life than her contribution to office while male counterparts with equally or more colourful private lives are not as tainted.

Evidently equality and respect for women vary not just between classes but between borders and even within the ranks of more "advanced" societies.

Paris-based feminist activist Anne Cécile Mailfert succulently sums up the argument in a Guardian article on the issue of sexism, "Our fight for parity is also about questioning our ability to fight sexist diktats, and the system of male domination, and to construct male-female equality in every field: to recognise the competence of women to exercise power is central and transcends the political sphere".

On paper, sexism may now not be tolerated in Parliament, but as a society, we still have a long way to go in treating women equally in the way we think, speak and act on a daily basis.

Natalie hopes more men and women start standing up against everyday sexism.                                                                                                              

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

 

The Honourable Thing To Do

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 13)

November 15th, 2012

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

 

 
The past week has been an interesting one – mainly the re-election of a president and China's leadership transition. To add to that, the week has seen two influential people step down; BBC's director-general George Entwistle, and CIA head David Petraeus.

Not to glorify their deeds, but it is however worth noting that in the midst of all these allegations and proof of misdeeds, they 'did the honourable thing' and stepped down. The same can be said of Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay who stepped down after being accused by his party for allowing corruption and electoral misspending.

At the news conference where he announced his resignation, he said, "The city's functioning is much more important than my own personal interest." Of course, it would be preferred that he carried out his responsibilities with this mantra instead of leaving it as a parting word, but nonetheless, he too stepped down.

What should be pointed out here is that these men have been accused of alleged wrongdoings, all have yet to be charged, yet they stepped down. This almost never happens on our side of the world.

This past year a sequence of blatant abuse of public funds has been exposed, yet no one has stepped down. In fact, the reverse happened; they became party leaders, continued with business as usual and added insult to injury by making unintelligent statements about not being their child's lover, not knowing what their husband did or vehemently denying that there is a conflict of interest when a politician's kin amasses an obscene amount of wealth through government projects or gifts. Perhaps our politicians need some serious family counselling for such communication breakdowns.

While Russia fired its defence minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, for a US$100 million (RM306 million) corruption scandal this past week, little can be said of our fight against the culture of corruption.

Corruption occurs in many forms – graft, nepotism, cronyism, bribery, extortion, patronage – and it extends to facilitating criminal enterprise. The reality is that, no country will ever be free of corruption – that is a fact. Yet we can strive to stop it, and not accept such gross abuse of power – the question is, are we willing? If we are, then how do we do it?

It's time we started challenging the culture of corruption instead of waiting for transformation programmes to take effect. We need to champion leadership that is clear on its mandate against corruption – and not one that meanders. Why? Because we risk losing our economic vitality in the long run and that money is not for the benefit of an elite few but for our country as a whole. Thus far, such practices have crippled the efficiency of services and public goods. In this day and age, there is no room for rent-seeking behaviour and neither is there room for secrecy when it concerns a 40 million lump sum donation to a political party.

We need to start championing leadership that does the honourable thing and take lessons from people such as Malawi President Joyce Banda who is taking a 30% pay cut in an act of solidarity with her people who have been affected by a 25% inflation rate after the devaluation of their currency.

In that vein, we may not fully agree with Obama's politics but a leader who fights to increase his own tax rate is worth championing. Instead, in Malaysia we have leaders lining their pockets to ensure that their heirs are well taken care of for generations to come.

Balance, accountability and transparency are what our country needs yet lacks. It's telling that year after year, Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index looks like it spilt its red marker all over our part of the world.
 
We still have yet to take corruption seriously in Malaysia. Even in China, where stories of corruption run deep, things might be changing with the country's premier Wen Jiabao's request for the Communist Party to investigate New York Times' allegations against him and his family for amassing US$2.7 billion in 'hidden wealth' during his tenure.

This sentiment against corruption was reiterated in Hu Jintao's speech at the 18th Party Congress last week where he said, "If we fail to handle this issue well (combating corruption), it could prove fatal to the party, and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state. We must thus make unremitting efforts to combat corruption."

If only our politicians could be that honest with themselves and with the people who determine the extent of their power.
 
Natalie believes that bottom-up anti-corruption mechanisms are most effective.                               
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Why It's Greener On The Other Side

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 12)

November 1st, 2012

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

 

Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, there is a bitter exodus of brain drain in Malaysia. It isn't a new phenomenon for us, so much so that it has forced organisations to actively lure back talented Malaysians through targeted career and job fairs. It has also seen the birth of initiatives such as TalentCorp.

While acknowledging the good efforts of those trying to address this concern, there are many realities that a flat tax rate and cursory benefits cannot make up for, and these realities have yet to be addressed. Let's be clear and honest in calling a spade a spade. It's time to have real discussions about this important issue, without feeling slighted and told to leave the country if you are so unhappy.

In order to address issues accurately, we need to be able to critically engage leaving emotions to one side. Hopefully this article captures some of the reasons in a pragmatic manner and will create space for meaningful discussion that will feed into the greater discussions of true transformation.

Why is it greener on the other side? One overarching reason is the reality of affirmative action, bluntly put it is institutionalised racism. Being a second-class citizen in a foreign country may not be ideal, but being one in your own country is a far bitter pill to swallow.

Many countries accord similar citizenship benefits to contributing foreigners, perhaps not immediately but definitely after a few years. So in the long-run, the knowledge and surety that, at the very least, your offspring will have equal rights and freedom, plays an important role.

Many Malaysians who have left are not first generation Malaysians. Yet, to waste energy and emotion on basic equality rights is tiring, degrading and eats away at self-esteem – so why bother?

In this day and age, merit should not be based on race, religion and family connections. But sadly, it is in many places and such bias grates deeper. So the option of moving to another country, where merit is based on capability, seems to be a much easier and workable environment.

Can a fatter paycheque make up for this? When house prices, university entrance requirements, job designations, promotions, preferential bonds, loan approvals, scholarships, tax rates and the likes are dependent on the colour of your skin and belief system – money can only soothe so much.

Another factor is the quality of the work environment. Is credit and promotion given according to merit, do people carry their weight, are local organisations professional and is intellectual honesty honoured? In many instances the answer is no, so not only are these concerns persuasive in luring talent back but it is also important for retaining them.

Part of earning a decent living is being able to enjoy a decent living. This includes good infrastructure such as public transport, education system and security factors. If the risk of theft, kidnapping and sexual assault is high, why put yourself and your loved ones in harm's way? Can my children walk to school feeling safe, or play in the playground without fear? Is it safe to walk down a street with your handbag without getting robbed?

It does not mean that these things do not happen elsewhere, however, with the rising security concerns due to increasing crime rates, people are more likely to prefer living in a country where the legal and security system will truly make them feel safe and favours the rights of children. No amount of money thrown into perception management can take away the fact that more Malaysians feel unsafe.

Modern nomadic migration can come across as ungratefulness that plagues younger generations. While there is some truth to that, the quality of life plays an important role too.

For local talents, the cost of living on a Malaysian salary can be very trying. In order to minimise travel time and avoid getting stuck in traffic jams, we try to live close to the city. However, paying for a Kuala Lumpur zip code can be too pricey. It would also mean living in a smaller space and not owning land. So we move out into satellite cities but end up spending more time on the road, taking away precious time that can be spent with the family or for recreation, which then affects our quality of life and not to mention our moods.

The list of reasons is far longer than what's been mentioned. It includes exorbitant car prices, rising food cost, political and media freedom, inflated house prices, a weaker ringgit and a growing sense of ethnocentric attitudes.

We can kick up a fuss about patriotism, but it also boils down to a sense of belonging and ownership. Many would love to return if the circumstances improved and these concerns are seriously and meticulously addressed.

There are large Malaysian diasporas in many developed countries and it is growing rapidly – we should be asking why and how to address this. The brain drain and retaining talent is a serious issue that needs real solutions, if not it will continue in the inexorable manner it is today and Malaysia will be at an even greater loss.

Natalie lives in Malaysia but wonders for how long. 

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com