Women deserve equal chances to lead in security, defence, Anwar says, citing exam results

In a recent question-and-answer session, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim emphasized the importance of granting women equal opportunities to assume leadership roles in the security and defence sectors. Anwar noted that a majority of personnel in the police and armed forces are men, acknowledging that the nature of the work is physically demanding.

However, he also stressed that women are capable of undertaking these physically taxing duties. During the session, a female trainee inquired about the biggest challenge in increasing the number of women in leadership positions within the country's security and defence forces. Anwar responded proudly of the young woman's confidence and quipped that confidence should not be mistaken for wrongdoing.

The session, held at the National Service Training Programme 3.0 in Kuala Lumpur, saw both in-person attendance by 236 female trainees and participation from 1,663 others through a video conference.