KOTA KINABALU: Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun has expressed hope for the next budget to be one that will spur women’s participation in the economic sector.
Azizah told the media yesterday that she bears high hopes that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will announce a budget that would systematically help women to embark into entrepreneurship.
“A lot of women are involved in the service industry and they are good at it. Women are hardworking, they are committed, so it is not wrong for the government to provide more allocation to help them start their business in the service industry,” she said.
Regarding allocation for women’s welfare, Azizah said the matter had always been emphasised not just by the state government but also the federal government.
“Numerous efforts have been taken to help women in need of welfare assistance,” she said.
She added that this time around, she wanted the help to focus on how women could be assisted to become successful in business so as to contribute to the economic growth of the state.
Azizah also reminded that 50 per cent of the country’s population comprise women and that young mothers contribute to 40 per cent of the workforce in the country.
She urged the federal government to extend the assistance to such women who are working in all sectors of both the federal and state governments in order to help them care for their children.