KUALA LUMPUR: The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) and its agencies are gearing up to have more women join the handicraft industry.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, said this was one of MOTAC's action plans under six transformation strategies in their National Tourism Policy 2020-2030.
"Women must be taught how to generate higher income and raise living standards by monetising their skills and talents by reinforcing the role of tourism as a rural development catalyst.
"As one of MOTAC's initiatives to increase the number of women as industry players, Kraftangan Malaysia's Reskilling and Upskilling programmes have been successfully completed by a total of 1,340 women crafts entrepreneurs.
"In addition, platforms such the E-Kraf Bazar and MyCraftShoppe, as well as mobile apps like CraftOnTheGo, have been utilised by 1,873 women crafts entrepreneurs to promote and market their products and improve service delivery," she said.
Nancy said the ministry also strives to help crafts entrepreneurs in rural areas such as Lusong Laku in Belaga, Sarawak as it was hard for them to market their products online due to no Internet coverage.
"Our Kraftangan staff are doing everything in their power, including purchasing the crafts products created by the crafters in those rural areas.
"It takes around eight hours by car from Bintulu to Lusong Laku so RM19,000 per officer is needed to go to the areas due to the long journey and other expenses," she said.
Nancy said there has been an increase in the number of women crafts entrepreneurs, especially in Sarawak, as the women mostly stay at home while men would go out to work.
She said MOTAC, as such, was seizing the opportunity to train the women in handicraft-making.
The minister was speaking at the launch of the book, Steel Gardenias - Women Leadership: A Malaysian and Global Perspective at The Women's Institute of Management (WIM) building in Taman Tun Dr Ismail today.
WIM chairman Datuk Nellie S. L. Tan Wong, who is the book's author, said the 432-page book features not only positive stories of leaders from around the world but also highlights the dark side of some leaders at the global level.
"In addition to western leaders, this book also features stories about Malaysian women leaders such as (former deputy prime minister) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and (former Chief Judge) Tan Sri Normah Yaakob.
"Quite often in the West, strong women are called 'Steel Magnolias'. Since Malaysia does not have magnolias, I decided to give the name Steel Gardenias, a beautiful white flower with a sweet scent which can be easily found in Malaysia," she said.