THREE Malaysian women have made it to Forbes’ 50 Over 50: Asia list, which features 50 inspirational women across Asia-Pacific who prove that the years after 50 are the new golden age.

They are Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) secretariat executive director Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, attorney Ambiga Sreenevasan, and film director and Current Pictures founder Tunku Mona Riza Tunku Khalid.

Forbes said the women on the third annual 50 Over 50: Asia list hail from 14 countries and territories and more than two dozen work sectors.

Briefly, Forbes said Sta Maria, 65, who was appointed to head the APEC secretariat in 2019, was the first woman to lead the 21-member advisory body.

She spent a decade shaping Malaysia’s contributions to the global economy, serving as deputy secretary-general, then secretary-general, then lead trade negotiator for the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

She also represented the Asia-Pacific region at the World Economic Forum and was a non-executive director for RHB Bank.

Forbes said human rights advocate and prominent lawyer Ambiga, 67, earned the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor and the Gandhi Memorial Trust Public Service Award.

As the second female president of the Malaysian Bar Council, she orchestrated the influential “March for Justice” and chaired Bersih 2.0, which advocates for free and fair elections, it said.

A founding member of the Women’s Aid Organisation, she now serves as president of the Pure Life Society, a charitable home for orphans and the underprivileged.

She holds a law degree from the University of Exeter.

As for Tunku Mona Riza, 57, Forbes said she won Most Promising Director for “Redha” at the Malaysia Film Festival 2017.

Inspired by a true story, the film depicts the challenges of raising an autistic child and was selected as the country’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.

Tunku Mona Riza established her production house, Current Pictures, in 1999.

Her 2023 film, “Rain Town”, was Malaysia’s first Chinese-language film directed by a Malay woman.

Premiering in February 2024, it was screened at last year’s Vancouver Asian Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India in Goa.

The full list can be found on Forbes’ website and in the February/March issue of Forbes Asia. – Bernama, January 17, 2024.