GENDER QUOTA and

WOMEN-ONLY ADDITIONAL
SEATS (WOAS)
DR WONG CHIN HUAT, PENANG INSTITUTE
WOMEN & INCLUSIVE POLITICS FORUM : STATE ASSEMBLIES &
ADDITIONAL SEATS FOR WOMEN FORUM
MARCH 31, 2017 JEN HOTEL, PENANG
WOMEN IN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN
MALAYSIA
25.0%

21.9%
20.0%

15.0%
13.0% 13.6%
10.8% 11.5%
10.0%

5.0%

0.0%
Federal Ministers & Deputy Ministers Senators Local Councillors (2014)
GENDER QUOTA

RESISTANCE TO GENDER FORMS & KEY RESISTANCE

QUOTA FACTOR
Candidate Quota
Seats in a Constituency: 1 or
Perceived as Zero-Sum Game between Genders
>1?
Not benefiting parties and politicians

Reserved Seats
Blocking-off Existing Seats or
Adding New Seats?
 REMEDY 1: Minimum

30% WOMEN QUOTA IN FPTP women

Percentage:
Not
guaranteed

First-Past-The-Post

ELECTED
VOTES SEATS REPRESENTATIVE
VOTERS S

CANDIDATES
CANDIDATE
QUOTA:
30 % of
candidates
must be
women

PARTIES
 AMENDMENT TO
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
REQUIRED
REMEDY 2:
1/3 IN PARTY LIST UNDER MMP Minimum
Mixed Member Proportional women
Percentage:
1/3 x L%

Constituen FPTP
cy Constituency SEATS (1-
VOTE CANDIDATES L%) ELECTED
REPRESENTATIVE
VOTERS S

Party Party list Party

VOTE CANDIDATES List
SEATS (L
CANDIDATE %)
QUOTA:
1 out of 3
Party List
candidates
must be
women

PARTIES
 AMENDMENT TO
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
NOT REQUIRED FOR STATES
REMEDY 3:
WOMEN-ONLY ADDITIONAL SEATS
Minimum
Women-Only Additional Seats women
Percentage:
15%

Constituen FPTP ELECTED MEMBERS

cy Constituency SEATS
VOTERS VOTE CANDIDATES (85%) LEGISLATURE
Constituen Party list Party NOMINATED
MEMBERS
cy CANDIDATES List
VOTE % SEATS
(15%)
CANDIDATE
QUOTA:
100%
Women
NOMINATED MEMBERS

PARTIES ELECTED MEMBERS

 FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
SILENCE ON NOMINATED MEMBERS
NOMINATED MEMBERS IN SABAH ASSEMBLY
 PENANG CONSTITUTION
ADDING NOMINATED MEMBERS

Amendment to have 15% nominated members may be as simple as

The Legislative Assembly shall consist of forty members elected in

accordance with the provisions of the Federal Constitution and seven
nominated members appointed in manner as the Legislative Assembly
may by law provide.
 SELANGOR CONSTITUTION
ADDING NOMINATED MEMBERS
Amendment to have nominated members may
be as simple as

(1) The Legislative Assembly shall consist of such

number of elected members and nominated
members as the Legislature may by law provide.
(2) The total number of elected members and
nominated members of the Legislative Assembly
shall be the same as or a multiple of the number
of the Federal Constituencies into which the state
is divided under Article 116 of the Federal
Constitution.
PENANG:
15% WOMEN-ONLY ADDITIONAL SEATS
Current Addition New Total
Total
FPTP constituency Seats 40 40
Women-only 7 7
non-constituency seats
Total 40 7 47

Women ADUNs 6 7 13
Women % 15.00% 27.66%

(Imagining A Replay of GE14)

Pakatan Rakyat/Harapan (67%) 30 5 35
Barisan Nasional (32%) 10 2 12
SELANGOR:
15% WOMEN-ONLY ADDITIONAL SEATS
Current Total Addition New Total
FPTP constituency Seats 56 56
Women-only 9 9
non-constituency seats
Total 56 9 65

Women ADUNs 14 9 23
Women % 25.00% 35.38%

(Imagining A Replay of GE14)

Pakatan Rakyat/Harapan 44 5 49
(60% V)
Barisan Nasional (39% V) 12 4 16