S’wak Women Leadership Chair rebranded as ‘Kursi Datuk Amar Juma’ani’ to boost women’s empowerment

KUCHING (Jan 16): The Sarawak Women Leadership Chair (SWLC) will be rebranded as the ‘Kursi Datuk Amar Juma’ani’, as part of ongoing efforts to empower women in skills and leadership.

State Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the Chair will serve as a dedicated platform to conduct in-depth research on issues related to women’s leadership.

She added that it will also oversee the development and implementation of targeted programmes aimed at enhancing the capacity, competence, and participation of Sarawakian women across various sectors.

“The role of the Kurdi Datuk Amar Juma’ani Chair is to implement training and community engagement programmes, carried out through collaboration with strategic partners such as the Leadership Institute of Sarawak Civil Service, the Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence, the Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (Tegas) and the Centre of Excellence for Technology Sarawak (Centexs).

“In short, this chair was established to empower women through education and skills training in partnership with relevant institutions,” she said at a press conference after chairing the Sarawak Women and Family Council (MWKS) meeting at Wisma Wanita here on Friday.

Fatimah, who also serves as MWKS chairperson, disclosed that the Sarawak government has allocated RM5 million as a one-off funding for the Chair.

She also highlighted the sponsorship of three female students to pursue a Master of Arts in Leadership Development at the Asian Women Leadership University College (AWLUC), with the first cohort set to commence studies in February this year.

For the 2027 intake, she said applications are now open on the Sarawak Women and Family Department (JWKS) website, where Sarawakian women can submit their applications and resumes.

A selection panel will evaluate applicants to determine suitable candidates for the second cohort, also scheduled to begin in February 2027.