MP Chong Eng laments disinterest in making sexual harassment a crime.
KUALA LUMPUR: Stop beating around the bush and make sexual harassment a crime, the government was told today.
The MP for Bukit Mertajam, DAP’s Chong Eng, said the government had been deliberating over the matter since the 1980s, with nothing to show at the end of the day.
“They have been giving excuses of consultation but have refused to implement a law which criminalises sexual harassment, especially in the workplace,” she told reporters at Parliament today.
She recalled that a coalition of NGOs petitioned for such a bill in 2001 but said the government had not shown any real interest, even in the face of statistics showing a doubling in the number of sexual crimes between 2005 and 2009.
She belittled “another round table session” to be held soon by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, saying it would lead nowhere because Malaysian employers were against a sexual harassment law.
“Employers are against it. They say it will affect foreign investors coming into the country,” she said, shaking her head.
Her DAP colleague, Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming, said current laws were inadequate when it came to dealing with sexual harassment.
“Right now, harassment is covered under Section 506 of the Penal Code, which considers it as criminal intimidation,” he said.
“But sexual harassment should include innuendo, body language and other factors.”
KUALA LUMPUR: Stop beating around the bush and make sexual harassment a crime, the government was told today.The MP for Bukit Mertajam, DAP’s Chong Eng, said the government had been deliberating over the matter since the 1980s, with nothing to show at the end of the day.
“They have been giving excuses of consultation but have refused to implement a law which criminalises sexual harassment, especially in the workplace,” she told reporters at Parliament today.
She recalled that a coalition of NGOs petitioned for such a bill in 2001 but said the government had not shown any real interest, even in the face of statistics showing a doubling in the number of sexual crimes between 2005 and 2009.
She belittled “another round table session” to be held soon by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, saying it would lead nowhere because Malaysian employers were against a sexual harassment law.
“Employers are against it. They say it will affect foreign investors coming into the country,” she said, shaking her head.
Her DAP colleague, Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming, said current laws were inadequate when it came to dealing with sexual harassment.
“Right now, harassment is covered under Section 506 of the Penal Code, which considers it as criminal intimidation,” he said.
“But sexual harassment should include innuendo, body language and other factors.”
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