Women in Rail Malaysia celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science — observed globally on Feb 11 — in Johor Bahru (Photo: Women in Rail)
Focus on maths and science, study hard and get into a good university.” Students have heard this spouted so often it probably goes in one ear and out the other. A granular approach, as Natasha Zulkifli has learnt, is more likely to grab their attention. During talks in Johor schools, she tells youngsters: “We are building a railway line in your town. When it is up and running, we will need good workers. You could be one of them if you go into the science stream and work hard.”
The founder director of non-profit Women in Rail Malaysia (WRM) says her team has spoken to more than 11,000 students nationwide since 2018 to interest them in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and share the good news: There are potential career opportunities in the rail industry.
“You need to inspire, you need to trigger something that makes them think, ‘Hey, this is something I could do’.” Her team slips in safety briefings during the sessions — “We’re building in your town, so please be careful” — and gets personnel to show pictures of construction signs and explain what they mean.
A WRM member will be ready to talk about the importance of pursuing those crucial subjects at tertiary level. She may also share her personal journey, perhaps about obtaining a scholarship and studying abroad, which loops back to doing STEM and working hard.
Natasha, stakeholder director at YTL Construction, is part of its project team that is building the new 192km electrified double-track rail link that connects Gemas in Negeri Sembilan to Johor Bahru. This final stretch of the existing Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd network is being upgraded from a single track. When ready in 2025, there will be a continuous connection from Johor Bahru Sentral to Padang Besar at the Thai border.
“Many kids are not keen to do STEM because they think it is hard. You have to get down to the details to help them understand and focus. If you don’t, how is a small girl in Johor going to know that in 10 years’ time, there will be a high-speed rail from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and that we need good people? The HSR is on hold for now but you have to paint a picture of the future. What’s important is awareness and exposure.
“You’ve got to say, ‘This is what it will look like. This is where I was; this is where I am today. And this is what your future can look like.’ You cannot go everywhere and talk to everyone, but you can do your best and speak to the pockets of those affected, so they’re going to see a new rail line through that town.”
Introducing students to STEM, ideally in primary school, is crucial, adds the London School of Economics law graduate whose rail journey began in 2012 when she became special officer to the CEO at SPAD (Land Public Transport Commission). Subsequently, she joined Prasarana Malaysia as head of international relations. Then someone asked if she would like to set up WRM.
“At that time, my life was pretty settled, my kids were in school and my marriage was going well. I was also enjoying my job. Because I had been so blessed with opportunities, I wanted to do more. I thought if there’s a model I could follow, I’d be happy to emulate it.”
Natasha contacted Women in Rail in the UK about the idea and they were very supportive. In Malaysia, she invited female colleagues and heads of rail-related agencies to lunch meetings and asked if they would like to get involved. Everyone said yes.
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There was male support too. A few years earlier, Natasha had a hand in setting up the non-profit Institution of Railway Signal Engineers, Malaysia. Members stepped forward to pay for WRM’s incorporation because “last time you helped us”. A friend built its website, telling her she could pay him later.
WRM was officially born in September 2017. It encourages young women to take up STEM and consider working in rail, and promotes equality and diversity in the industry. “The country will need strong and good talent for when we build and run the HSR. We need to nurture and groom them now as we cannot miraculously conjure up talent when the project is awarded,” she says.
“I don’t profess to want to change everyone’s life. But I do know I want to make a difference, provide support and ensure we have a good talent pipeline coming in. You have to plant that enthusiasm in students from young.”
In conjunction with International Youth Day, celebrated by the United Nations every Aug 12, WRM is taking a group of students aged 15 and above to visit the Express Rail Link depot in Salak Tinggi, Selangor. The ERL is a non-stop high-speed service from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to KL Sentral.
The youngsters will get to see how a train control centre works and how the coaches are maintained and repaired. Experiential learning will give them a better idea of things than just reading about them. “Besides instilling a sense of nationalistic pride in our critical infrastructures, we hope the trip triggers an interest in the industry. We will have a female railway engineering graduate talk about her experience working in Malaysian rail. Role models such as these are very powerful and tremendously inspiring.”
Natasha is one fine example. In 2019, she was recognised by the German government as one of its “Remarkable Women in Transport” for her contribution to sustainable mobility solutions. In 2021, she was named Outstanding Woman of the Year in Rail for her long involvement in Malaysia’s public transport and rail sector by the government .
WRM has 700 female and male members today, including students and corporate partners, and events are run solely by volunteers. It organises leadership talks with industry experts regularly. A mentorship programme is being rolled out, and workshops for professional development are on the cards.
In 2019 and last August, it held international conferences where participants learnt about global iconic transport and infrastructure projects, and met speakers who dared dream and rise to impossible challenges, knowing creativity and determination can impact organisations and countries as a whole.
Natasha counts among them. Looking at how WRM has evolved organically, she says: “I berani because I just wanted to try. I’m not afraid to fail; I’m not afraid to look stupid.”
She credits her can-do spirit to a “non-conventional upbringing” by her Malay father and her mother, who is from New Zealand. “Also, I am who I am because of the support of a very good man, my husband. He does not feel threatened by my success. I’ve had supportive bosses, good people in the industry and two children who are my biggest cheerleaders.”
The hardest part about trying to inspire people to get into STEM is countering the “natural human inclination to take the easy route and not wanting to give it a go”, Natasha reckons.
“Also, I think perhaps the government isn’t doing enough to make [school] fun, have the right teachers in place, and properly structure technical and vocational education and training courses. If Malaysia were to look 20 to 30 years ahead at the types of skills we need, we’re going to be that country that has to import all the expertise.
“I know the rail industry does not have a proper skills development plan. That really is concerning because what’s going to happen is, when we start to see the rollout of the next big major rail line, where’s the talent going to come from?
Her priority now is to have the backs of women in the industry and build a quality talent pipeline. That also means giving the young the exposure they need.
Talk about starting young: Natasha’s first train ride, when she was in Primary Three, remains fresh in her mind. “My parents sent me and my sister up north for a week with a helper and my great-grandmother, who had a house in Butterworth. They put us in the non-air-conditioned class. I remember getting to the station early in the morning.
“My sister, who was in kindy then, wore white track pants. By the time we arrived, they were black because of the dirt from the open window. I remember just feeling so hot, but it was like an adventure.
“I love taking the train, especially the high-speed rail, wherever I go these days. I do think Malaysia needs to make rail the way of the future. It disappoints me when I see more highways sprouting up, like a criss-cross of spaghetti.”
Her dream is for the government “to recognise the good work we are doing and give us a grant to allow us to hire someone and be able to conduct events on a regular basis”. Her goal is to do more events and provide support for women in other countries, “for them to know that if they want to set up Women in Rail, I will be behind them all the way and do everything in my power to help them. Because I believe we cannot grow unless we are united”.
And her hope is to have more male members because “we cannot survive without the [backing] of the men in rail. I must say for an industry that is supposedly male-oriented, they are extremely warm and welcoming — if you have the brains and are willing to put in the work to do your job well”.
This article first appeared on Aug 12, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
