Fong: Hire special officers to handle sexual harassment issues in Malaysia

By Sim Leoi Leoi
August 19, 2004

Putrajaya - Companies will be required to appoint special officers in charge of sexual harassment issues under a new amendment to the Employment Act.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn said although it had only received 10 reported cases last year, it was believed that many sexual harassment instances went unreported because the victims often felt they were alone in their suffering.

“The appointment of these officers will help these victims deal with the suffering and also carry out investigation into the cases reported to them.

“They will have to work closely with members of the union and senior management to resolve the cases and recommend any disciplinary or even legal action if need be. The companies must also establish a committee on sexual harassment to deal with sexual harassment issues at the workplace,” he said after the Cabinet meeting here yesterday.

Dr Fong said the proposed amendment was in addition to the Code of Practice on Sexual Practice, which was already put into place by many companies.

He said the ministry intended to propose that any company which infringed this requirement be fined RM5,000 or face a six months’ jail term or both.

“Appointment of these officers will help boost the image of the companies and also the morale of its staff, particularly female workers.

“The move will allow the companies a pre-emptive, in-house mechanism to make sure sexual harassment cases don’t get out of hand.

“It is important that those officers appointed have the trust of the staff so that the staff will be confident that this issue is dealt with seriously and not covered up by the companies,” he said.

Dr Fong said the Government would bring up the proposal at the National Labour Advisory Council meeting scheduled at the end of this month, which would be attended by representatives from both the unions and employers.

All Women’s Action Society spokesman Betty Yeoh said such a proposal was an indication that the ministry recognised the problem in the workplace.

For us, we still believe that the best protection is to have a Sexual Harassment Bill, which we proposed back in 2001,” she said.

MTUC president Zainal Rampak said the union welcomed the move but hoped that at the same time the ministry would also take steps to make the Sexual Harassment Act a reality.

Copyright 1999-2004, AsianSexGazette.com.  All rights reserved.  No content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.  Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.