Sabah's development requires close cooperation from men, women: Musa Aman

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's development requires close cooperation from both men and women, said Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman (pix).
He said it was because of that the state government did not practice favouritism in its appointment of civil servants for important post to ensure smooth implementation of development plans.
"I'm not one-sided. I will not hesitate to give important post (in the government) to anyone based on merit.
"As such, the state government has no problem to provide opportunities for women in Sabah because we believe they, too, can contribute to the state's development," he said at the state-level Women's Day celebration here last night.
Musa said the state government always strived to ensure the women in Sabah were competitive, as well as creative and innovative, so that they would not be left behind in development.
He said women also played an important role in further enhancing the 2050 National Transformation (TN50) programme for a more progressive future generation.
Earlier, State Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid said the ministry, through the State Women Affairs Department (Jhewa), held the Sabah Women TN50 programme last Aug 29 to gather the people's aspirations on empowering women.
She said the programme touched on key issues on the future of Sabah women, as well as identified proposals on realising the aspirations of the Sabah women towards 2050.
At the event, Jainab handed over a document on Sabah Women TH50 containing proposals on empowering the Sabah women to Musa, who also launched an entrepreneurial programme 'Creating Millionaires Among Young Women Entrepreneurs (Cream)'.
In conjunction with the Women' s day seven celebration, six women were awarded for their contributions in their respective fields.
They are Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman's wife, Datin Seri Siti Rubiah Abdul Samad, who received the Woman Icon Award for her involvement in social activities; former State Attorney-General Datuk Mariati Robert (Distinguished Woman Award), Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) pilot Major Patricia Yapp Syau Yin (Excellent Woman Award), Marina Harris Embiricos (Woman Entrepreneur Award) Sahrah Asor (Promising Woman Entrepreneur Award) and the Kinabatangan Norqaseh Single Mothers' Association for the Outstanding Women Association Award. — Bernama