Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (Malaysia)

Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development
Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat (KPWKM)
Ministry overview
Formed 17 January 2001 (2001-01-17)
Preceding Ministry
Jurisdiction Government of Malaysia
Headquarters No. 55, Persiaran Perdana, Precinct 4, Federal Government Administrative Centre, 62100 Putrajaya
Employees 7,841 (2016)
Annual budget MYR 1,986,917,000 (2016)
Minister responsible
Deputy Ministers responsible
Ministry executives
  • Rose Lena Lazemi, Secretary-General
  • Wee Beng Ee, Deputy Secretary-General (Operations)
  • Azman Mohd Yusof, Deputy Secretary-General (Strategic)
Website www.kpwkm.gov.my

The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (Malay: Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat), abbreviated KPWKM, is a ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for social welfare: children, women, family, community, children, older people, destitute, homeless, disaster victim, disabled. The ministry is determining the policies and direction to achieve the goals of gender equality, family development and a caring society in line with Malaysia's commitment towards the United Nations' Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Beijing Declaration. As of 16 May 2013, the ministry is headed by a Minister, currently held by Rohani Abdul Karim. She is assisted by two Deputy Ministers, currently held by Azizah Mohd Dun and Chew Mei Fun.

Portfolio responsibilities

  1. Department of Social Welfare, or Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat. (Official site)
  2. Department of Women’s Development, or Jabatan Pembangunan Wanita. (Official site)
  3. National Population and Family Development Board, or Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Malaysia (LPPKN). (Official site)
  4. Social Institute of Malaysia, or Institut Sosial Malaysia. (Official site)
  5. Non-Aligned Movement Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW), or Institut Pengupayaan Wanita bagi Anggota Negara-negara Berkecuali. (Official site)
  6. National Welfare Foundation of Malaysia, or Yayasan Kebajikan Negara Malaysia. (Official site)

Key legislation

The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development is responsible for administration of several key Acts:

Background

Following the Fourth World Conference on Women organised by the United Nations in Beijing, China in 1995, efforts to establish a cabinet-level body to aid the Malaysian Government in realising its aspiration towards elevating the status of women were made.

KPWKM was officially established on 17 January 2001 as the Ministry of Women's Affairs with Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil acting as the first cabinet-level Minister to solely focus on the development of women. The scope of the Ministry was widened to include family development and the name was changed to the Ministry of Women and Family Development on 15 February 2001. In 2004, the scope was further widened to include social welfare and development and the Ministry adopted its current name on 27 March 2004.[1]

Initiatives

Strategies

Policies

Policy guidelines developed and adopted to date include:

Officially adopted by the Government in 2003, the NSP seeks to create a progressive and established Malaysian society with every member having the opportunity to develop his/her potential to the optimum in a healthy social environment based on the qualities of unity, resilience, democracy, morality, tolerance, progress, care, fairness and equity.[2]
The main objectives of this policy are to ensure an equitable sharing in the acquisition of resources, information, opportunities and benefits of development for men and women. The objectives of equality and justice must be made the essence of development policies which must be people oriented so the women, who constitute half the nation's population, can contribute and realize their potentials to the optimum; and to integrate women in all sectors of development in accordance with their capabilities and needs, in order to enhance the quality of life, eradicate poverty, ignorance and illiteracy, and ensure a peaceful and prosperous nation.[3] KPWKM has also gotten the Government to agree towards achieving a minimum of a 30% representation of women in decision making positions in the public sector.[4]
In seeking to achieve a contented and strong society for national development, the NSWP shall develop human potential to the optimum and to strengthen society to face current social challenges, create various facilities for enhancing self-development and development of the individual, and build and inculcate the spirit of mutual help and assistance to reinforce a caring culture.[5]
This policy was adopted to establish a society of the elderly who are contented, dignified, possessed of a high sense of self-worth, and optimising their potential, as well as to ensure that they enjoy all opportunities besides being given the care and protection as members of a family, society and the nation.[6]

Organisation

KPWKM is headed by a Minister, currently held by Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim (PBB). She is assisted by a Deputy Minister, currently held by Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun(UMNO).

The following departments and agencies are under the purview of the KPWKM:

In 1975, the Government set up the National Advisory Council on the Integration of Women in Development (NACIWID) as the machinery to ensure the involvement of women in development. In 1983, the Secretariat for Women's Affairs (HAWA) in the Prime Minister's Department was established to take over the tasks of the NACIWID Secretariat. From 1997, HAWA functioned as a department under the former Ministry of National Unity and Social Development. In 2001, the Department was placed under the then newly established KPWKM and restructured as the Department for Women's Development (DWD). By 2002, the DWD had set up branch offices in every state in Malaysia.[7]
Initially set up in 1946 as the Community Welfare Department of Malaya, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) has evolved in fulfilling its role in national development. From initially being involved in mitigating the social problems brought about by the immediate post-war period, the role and functions of this department have expanded to cover prevention and rehabilitation services in social issues as well as community development.[8]
The National Population and Family Development Board (NPFDB) was established in 1966 to improve the reproductive health status of women and men and encourage family planning. It has since evolved to include policy and advisory roles by assisting planners and programme managers to integrate population and family development into sectoral development programme planning as well as facilitate policy makers to consider population and family development factors in the formulation of national development policies and strategies.[9]
The Social Institute of Malaysia was set up to promote professional and semi-professional training in the field of training and research as well as social education to all social workers from various levels and groups from within and outside the country including non-governmental organisations. It currently operates from a 50-acre (200,000 m2) campus in Sungai Besi that was completed in 2001.[10]

List of Federal Minister of Women, Family and Community Development

Minister of Women, Family and Community Development
Incumbent
Rohani Abdul Karim
since 16 May 2013 (2013-05-16)
Style Yang Berhormat Menteri (The Honourable Minister)
Member of Cabinet of Malaysia
Reports to Parliament of Malaysia
Seat Level 38, No. 55, Persiaran Perdana, Precinct 4, Federal Government Administrative Centre, 62100 Putrajaya
Appointer Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Malaysia
Formation 17 January 2001 (2001-01-17)
First holder Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
Deputy Azizah Mohd Dun
Chew Mei Fun
Website www.kpwkm.gov.my

The following is a list of former and current Federal Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.

Political Party:   BN

№ Federal Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Term of Office Prime Minister
(Cabinet)
Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Constituency		 Political Party Took Office Left Office
1 Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
(b. 1953)
MP for Lembah Pantai		 BN (UMNO) 29 September 2001 18 March 2008 Mahathir Mohamad
(VI)
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
(I • II)
2 Ng Yen Yen
(b. 1946)
MP for Raub		 BN (MCA) 19 March 2008 9 April 2009 Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
(III)
(1) Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
(b. 1953)
Senator		 BN (UMNO) 10 April 2009 8 April 2012 Najib Razak
(I)
3 Najib Razak
(b. 1953)
MP for Pekan		 8 April 2012 15 May 2013
4 Rohani Abdul Karim
(b. 1955)
MP for Batang Lupar		 BN (PBB) 16 May 2013 Incumbent Najib Razak
(II)

See also

References

  1. ↑ KPWKM: Background
  2. ↑ KPWKM: National Social Policy
  3. ↑ KPWKM: National Policy on Women
  4. ↑ KPWKM: Dasar 30% Wanita Peringkat Pembuat Keputusan (in Malay)
  5. ↑ KPWKM: National Social Welfare Policy
  6. ↑ KPWKM: National Policy for the Elderly
  7. ↑ KPWKM: Department for Women's Development
  8. ↑ KPWKM: Social Welfare Department
  9. ↑ KPWKM: National Population and Family Development Board
  10. ↑ KPWKM: Social Institute of Malaysia

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