In a Facebook post, Norshida said Umno has reneged on its promise that 30% of the candidates for the nationwide polls will be women from the party’s Wanita and Puteri wings.

“Has the BN leadership forgotten that women candidates were a key factor to BN’s win (in the Johor state election)?

“Has the leadership forgotten the promise it made to all women in the party and to female voters?” asked Norshida, who is the political secretary of Dr Adham Baba.

She said BN should not have bothered to agree to implement a 30% quota for women candidates if the coalition had no intention of implementing it in the first place.

“We are disappointed that only 11% of women have been nominated. It is clear that the leadership is weak and doesn’t recognise Wanita BN’s abilities to participate in the nation’s politics,” she said.

In August, Wanita BN chairman Noraini Ahmad called for a 30% allocation of seats for women to be made a legal requirement for any political party wishing to contest a general election.

She urged BN to support the quota, especially since the coalition had proven itself with its convincing victory in the Johor state election in March, when nine out of its 14 women candidates were elected.

On Oct 2, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said the party agreed that 30% of candidates for GE15 will be women.