Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said today the government was prepared to change legislation, regulations, practices and thinking that obstructed the progress of women in accordance with their position and capability.

Najib, who is also women, family and community development minister, invited suggestions and working papers from the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO) on the matter for consideration by the government.

He said the capability of women should be determined first before empowering their positions, and measures must be enhanced to help women to be more competitive.

"I assure you this will not take seven years. For something good, we do not have to wait long," he said when launching NCWO's golden jubilee celebration in Kuala Lumpur.

Also present were Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala, NCWO president Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin and Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Najib also said that women should be appreciated for their various roles of being mother, wife and worker, and hailed them as a nation's treasure.

Therefore, he said, the government had to consider how this multi-skilling could be simplified.

He said that though the participation of women in the country's manpower was 46 per cent, their income was still below RM3,000.

"Women are still at the lower level, quantitatively high but qualitatively low. How can then women be elevated in the value chain to garner a higher income?" he said.

As such, he expressed the hope that women would master skills such as those pertaining to information technology and innovation so that they can give added value to their employers and organisations.

- Bernama