Rina said the special team comprises representatives from relevant ministries and agencies, non-governmental organisations as well as academicians experienced and knowledgeable on the issue.
“The ministry also had several engagement sessions, including with the Malaysian Employers Federation, Prolintas, Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia, and the Housing and Strata Management Tribunal in an effort to get input in drafting the bill,” she said in a statement today.
According to Rina, the draft had been reviewed jointly by the ministry and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) since January 2021 to ensure the Bill would be able to truly address existing legal gaps and implementation issues that would arise.
“I would like to stress that the legislation of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill will remain a priority for the ministry, which will work closely with the AGC.
“Currently, the ministry is waiting for approval from the AGC before the bill is submitted for Cabinet approval and then tabled for first reading in Parliament sometime this year,” she said.
She said the ministry was aware of the constraints in terms of existing laws and policies, such as the high burden of proof necessary, the lack of provision of remedies to victims as well as issues of under-reporting that have discouraged victims from reporting to the authorities.
Rina said although the bill was still at the review stage, sexual harassment cases were meanwhile being dealt with through various other legislations and regulations.
“Among them are the Penal Code [Act 574], Employment Act 1995 [Act 265], Regulation 4A, Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 [PU (A) 395/1993] and Service Circular No 5 Year 2018 that should be referred to in dealing with sexual harassment in the public service workplace.
“As such, the ministry urges victims to continue coming forward to make an immediate report because the existing acts and regulations are being enforced to protect their interests and safety,” she said.
Rina said the ministry, through the women’s development department (JPW), had been redoubling efforts to raise awareness through advocacy programmes to prevent sexual harassment from happening, either in physical, verbal, visual or other forms.
She said until July 2021, JPW had conducted 65 awareness and advocacy programmes related to sexual harassment. These were attended by 10,952 participants nationwide.