SIBU: Senator Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil asks ‘What is happening to the men?’ whenever someone come knocking on her door for single mother’s assistance.
CAMARADERIE: Shahrizat (seated second left) with members of Sibu Single Mother’s Association. Fatimah is standing at left.
The Minister of Women, Family and Community Development says she finds men who shirk the obligation of looking after divorced wife and children very irresponsible and unacceptable.
“I cannot accept the fact that some irresponsible husbands just divorced (the wife) and let off the children like that. If a couple are separated, at least the husband has to be responsible for maintenance fees, like it or not.
“What worries the government is that some divorced women are uneducated and not capable of rearing the family in terms of finance,” she said when meeting members of the Sibu Single Mother’s Association at a hotel here yesterday.
Describing women as a powerful economic resource of the nation, Shahrizat said her ministry would keep looking into means to reach out to more single mothers in the state, particularly in Sibu.
She pledged a government grant of RM100,000 to the association to help needy members set up small businesses and to eventually stand on their own feet.
The fund is expected in two weeks.
Shahrizat questioned why society pointed finger at women for abandoned infants and other social ills arising from broken families.
“Why are the women to blame only? Why nobody questions who the father is?”
Under the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs), Shahrizat said, more skills development programmes would be organised to equip single mothers with necessary techniques to lead an independent life.
“It is my heartfelt wish that every woman in Malaysia will have her own wallet. Given the opportunities, women can emerge as an important economic resource for the country.
“Investing in women is smart economics and the government will invest in Malaysian women so that they grow financially strong,” she added.
Starting June, she said the application of licence for child care centres would be processed by the State Welfare Department to speed up the procedure.
Earlier, Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datin Fatimah Abdullah called on single mothers in the state to be proactive in seeking assistance from the government.
“For those yet to register with e-kasih, please go to the district office to get the form. The federal government provides aid based on the e-kasih database, so do not miss the chance.”
While noting that many Sarawak women have grown more independent over
the years, Fatimah said the state government would continue to formulate more women development and training schemes for the fairer sex.
Rural women from throughout the state excel in food processing and the authorities concerned would assist in ensuring quality, quantity, packaging and labelling to commercialise their products, she added.
She advised single mothers who encountered problems to approach her department for a solution.
“If you have any issues, let us know. We want open communication and you can trust us to come up with something for yourself and your children as well,” she said.