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

Women National Service trainees at the ‘Temu Anwar Bersama Wira Muda Negara’ programme at Kem Rejimen 515, Askar Wataniah, in Kuala Lumpur on November 14, 2026. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

By Ida Lim

First Published: Saturday, 14 Nov 2026 4:24 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said it would be unfair if women were not given equal opportunities to take on leadership roles.

Anwar noted that most personnel in the police and armed forces were men, citing the physically demanding nature of the work.

However, he acknowledged that women could also take on physically demanding duties.

“While we give space to women, there are also duties where there are many women, in education and medical. What we can focus now, in universities, more than 50 per cent are women, and now the results of examinations and tests, women outperform men, so it’s not fair if we don’t give them equal treatment,” he said during a question-and-answer session with female trainees at the National Service Training Programme 3.0 here.

A female trainee had asked Anwar what he considered the biggest challenge to be overcome in getting more women into leadership positions in the country’s security and defence sector.

During the brief exchange, the trainee also told Anwar that she is interested to join the Malaysian Army.

Anwar said he was proud of her confidence and quipped that young people should be confident because they were not doing anything wrong, such as stealing.

Anwar was speaking at the National Service Training Branch, Camp 515, Kuala Lumpur, attended in-person by 236 female trainees.

Another 1,663 trainees at seven other NS training camps joined the session via video conference.