Zuraida, who is the president of the Council of Women Political Leaders (Comwel), noted that Kedah and Selangor have appointed two female exco members each, while Penang and Kelantan have one female exco member each, out of a total of 11 exco members in each state.

She said Negeri Sembilan has the most female exco members – three – out of the 11 members.

“The most disappointing is that Terengganu, where Perikatan Nasional had won all the seats, has no female exco member.

“The welfare and women affairs portfolio was given to a male (Ajil assemblyman Maliaman Kassim).

“The lone female assemblyman (Ladang assemblyman Zuraida Md Noor) there was only given the role as deputy executive councillor under the welfare and women portfolio,” she said in a statement.

Zuraida also pointed out that a “progressive” state like Selangor lacked women leaders in decision-making roles.

“The number of female assemblymen in Selangor (after the state election) has declined, and one of the reasons for this is that the political parties failed to place female candidates in ‘winnable seats’,” she said.

She expressed concern that women empowerment in politics will decline if it is not prioritised.

“There is a need to balance out the concentration of power held by male leaders,” she said.