YB Puan Chong Eng

Chair

YB Chong Eng is the Penang State EXCO for Youth and Sports; Women, Family and Community Development, Chairperson of Penang State Sport Council and Chairperson of PWDC Sdn. Bhd. She is also the State Assemblyperson for the Padang Lalang Constituency. Chong Eng was the first woman opposition leader to be elected into the Penang State Assembly when she won the Batu Lanchang state seat in 1995. Born in 1957 to a rubber-tapping family in a Chinese new village in Pahang, Chong Eng developed a keen awareness of gender and social inequality early in her life and was determined to fight for equality. She became the first girl from her village to complete high school and university, taking up teaching as her first job after graduation. In 1990, Chong Eng joined the Democratic Action Party as a research officer in its Penang headquarters and a year later, decided to become a member, supporting the party's objective of establishing a fair, free and just Malaysian Malaysia. Chong Eng is well-known for her advocacy of gender and social justice. Her fiery and passionate speeches in Parliament on these issues have even earned her the moniker "the Iron Lady of DAP". In DAP, she has helmed the party's women's wing and been the party's Deputy Secretary-General. In the past 10 years, Chong Eng was chiefly responsible for steering the direction of the party towards supporting the narrowing of gender gaps in the economy and politics. She also founded two non-governmental organisations, the Women's Rights Awareness Association (WRAA) and the Good Governance and Gender Equality Society (3Gs) to promote these ideals. 

YB Dr. Norlela Bt Ariffin

Dr. Norlela Bt Ariffin is the Penang State Assemblyperson for the Penanti Constituency. She attained her Bachelor of Science in Business from Indiana University and did her masters in Business Administration at the University of North Texas, USA followed by her Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex in UK. She successfully operationalised Malaysia's first innovation certification of technologically innovative SMEs by adapting the innovation certification methodology of Korea's Innobiz certification (from 2001 till present) based on the OECD Oslo Manual which is an internationally accepted innovation assessment standard. Dr. Norlela has 13 years of experience in national and international field-level STI policy research.

Dr. Cecilia Ng Choon Sim

Dr. Cecilia Ng Choon Sim is an independent researcher and women's rights advocate. She was an Honorary Consultant at the Women's Development Research Centre (KANITA), Universiti Sains Malaysia, where she has been Visiting Professor since 2007. She was previously an Associate Professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) before she opted for early retirement in 2000. From 1994 till 1999 she was a Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute for New Technologies in The Netherlands. In 2010 the United Nations Country Team (Malaysia) commissioned her to write a report of Gender and Rights in Malaysia evaluating the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the country. She is active in women's groups in Malaysia and is a founder member of the Women's Development Collective (WDC) and the All Women's Action Society (AWAM), where she has been involved in research, training and advocacy on gender issues in Malaysia since the early 1980s. She was the Vice President (2009 – 2011) of the Good Governance and Gender Equality Society (3Gs), and through 3Gs and KANITA, has been one of the prime movers of the Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) initiative in Penang local government. Recently Cecilia assisted the state government of Penang in setting up the Penang Women's Development Corporation (PWDC).

Chin Soo Wah

Chin Soo Wah is currently the Public Affairs Manager of Kwong Wah Yit Poh. In 1978, she joined Kwong Wah Yit Poh's advertising department. Through her work at Kwong Wah Yit Poh, she passionately promotes charity, education, business development, tourism, health and many other areas. She is actively involved in organising charity fund raising events. She was the Vice Chairperson of Phor Tay Old Girls' Association and in December 2011 was the organizing Chairperson for Phor Tay's 40 year Anniversary Fund Raising Dinner which successfully raised RM600,000 for the school. In February 2012, she was the Organizing Chairman of the fund raising concert which raised RM220,000 for the Ru Yi Children's Home. She was also the founding member of the Penang Entrepreneurs Counseling Society and is currently the Treasurer of the Association. Besides that, she is also involved in the working team in the (PUMM) Persatuan Usahawan Maju Malaysia. Apart from that, she is also a member of the MMK Wanita Pulau Pinang, a member of Penang Press Club and a member of Sun Yat Sen Society.

Hjh Aida Yusof Rawa

Hjh Aida Yusof Rawa is currently the Treasurer of Institut Latihan Kepimpinan dan Parkaderan Dakwah Islamiyyah under Parti Islam Se-Malaysia. In 1973, she attained a Diploma In Banking Studies at the Mara Technology Institute in Shah Alam and later acquired her degree in Finance at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA. In 1982, she expanded her expertise to include Islamic Studies, Human Resource and Psychology, majoring in counselling at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Bangi. She then worked in the Rubber Industry of Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) where she accumulated 33 years' worth of experience serving in various departments. In 2007, she was appointed as the Director of the Estates Department. Since her retirement in 2010, she has been actively involved in PAS and organizes training and counselling sessions for PAS party members.

Mangaleswary V.Kumarasamy

Mangaleswary V.Kumarasamy has been a Legal Practitioner for the past 14 years. She currently is the legal advisor to the office of the Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang. She is also an Advisor to the Special Committee for the Development of Nibong Tebal Parliamentary Constituency and the Special Committee on Tamil Schools in Penang. She is a Member of the Board of Visitors for Bagan Specialist Centre Hospital, a Member of the Appeals Board Panel for Local Town and Country Planning, and is Advisor to various temple committees and many other NGO's and societies in Penang. She is also actively involved in political party work as the Vice Chairperson of the Penang DAP women's wing, and Chief of the DAP women's wing of the Batu Kawan Parliamentary Constituency. Apart from that, she is also the Advisor for the DAP Socialist Youth of Batu Kawan area. Mangaleswary is also actively involved in programmes related to women and gender related issues.

Dato' Dr. Marina David

Dato' Dr. Marina David qualified as a dental surgeon with First Class and First Rank honours from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India in 1982. Upon returning home while awaiting her posting, she served as a volunteer dental surgeon under UNCHR working with Vietnamese refugees at the Sg. Besi Camp for the Vietnamese Boat People from 1982 – 1983. She was later attached to the government hospital in Muar from 1983 – 1985, and since 1986, has been running her own private practice in Penang. She has also been actively involved in the church, holding various positions including Chairperson of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit Parish Council from 2000-2005. Marina has also represented the Catholic Church at the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), and was secretary of the Penang Branch from 2004 – 2006. Later, she was Vice Chairman for the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS), Penang Branch. She has been a speaker at a number of interfaith dialogues. She has been the President of YWCA Penang, an NGO for the empowerment of women and young girls for 11 years and currently is the National President for YWCA Malaysia. She also helped establish the Penang state funded Pusat Jagaan Kanak-Kanak (PJKK) at Taman Serumpun, Seberang Perai Tengah under the MMK Belia dan Sukan, Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Komuniti, which she is still helps oversee.

Lim Kah Cheng

Lim Kah Cheng obtained her Bachelors (First Class Hon) and Masters in the Social Sciences from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) before reading law at Trinity College, Oxford University in the UK. She is a social activist advocating for the rights of women, children and persons with disabilities. She is the current Vice President of both the Women's Centre for Change (WCC), Penang (2014-2015) and the BOLD Association for Children with Special Needs (2014-2016) and a member of the Penang Forum Steering Committee. She worked as a lawyer and researcher between 1984 and 2012, and has since retired from legal practice to devote her time to volunteerism. She was a Municipal Councillor of the Municipal Council of Penang Island between 2008 and 2010 under the civil society quota. She was a member of WCC’s research team that carried out a study on the Judicial Processes in Sexual Crimes and a Visiting Associate Researcher on poverty at the Institute for Development Studies (Sabah) from 1985 to 1987. She was also one of the founding members of the Sabah Women’s Action Organisation (SAWO) and the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) now based in Chiangmai, Thailand.

YB Yap Soo Huey

Yap Soo Huey obtained her Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) at Monash University, Australia and worked as a research scientist in Australia's largest not-for-profit virology and communicable disease research centre, the Burnet Institute in Melbourne. In 2011, Soo Huey took up the position of Science, Technology & Innovation Officer in the Penang Chief Minister's Office. Within a short 18 months, she organized the Penang International Science Fairs for 2011 and 2013, served as the Representative of the Chief Minister in the Penang Science Council and spearheaded the Tech Dome Penang Project. As of 2013, Soo Huey is the State Assemblywoman for Pulau Tikus Constituency and is involved in issues pertaining to community improvement, urban livability and mobility, and municipal planning and development. She is also the Vice Chairman for the Penang DAP women's wing.