A NON-GOVERNMENTAL organisation (NGO) has joined the chorus to pressure the Government to reconvene the Parliament to enact new legislations, particularly those addressing gender issues.
“We laud our Rulers for urging the Government to reconvene the Parliament as soon as possible.
“With the Parliament in session, we could deliberate on many pressing issues affecting the country such as the economy, containing COVID-19 and address matters plaguing Malaysian women,” Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) said in a statement.
Three days ago, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong al-Sultan Abdullah Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Shah said that he was of the opinion that the Parliament should be reconvened as soon as possible to allow MPs to debate issues such as the Emergency and National Recovery Plan.
His Majesty issued the statement after chairing a special Conference of Rulers meeting yesterday at the Istana Negara, following several meetings held with chiefs of political parties, the Special Independent Committee on the Emergency 2021 and other top Government officials last week.
“The Agong also stressed the need for a strong and stable Government that can work effectively to contain COVID-19 and revive the economy.
“The Parliament is an important platform for elected leaders to meet and discuss various issues, particularly those pertaining to the pandemic,” the Comptroller of the Royal Household Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin was reported saying, in a statement.
The Conference of Rulers also unanimously agreed that there was no need to extend the state of Emergency beyond the Aug 1 deadline announced earlier.
Protection against sexual harassment, stalkers
Touching on the matter, JAG said that women were the most affected by the pandemic and its resulting economic downturn, as cases of domestic violence shot up drastically during the various forms of lockdowns.
The NGO added that women also lacked access to protection and support system due to the movement restrictions, compounded with them losing jobs as well.
With that said, JAG urged the Government to expedite tabling several legislations to protect women once the Parliament is reconvened, such as the Sexual Harassment Bill that has been left pending for some time now.
“This legislation must include economic and social protections to women from multiple angles. According to a research done by YouGov in 2019, 36% of women in Malaysia had faced sexual harassment.
“In fact, a recent research conducted by Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) and Vase.ai found 62% of Malaysian women had suffered some form of sexual harassment at workplace,” it stated.
JAG also urged the Government to include stalking as an offence under the Penal Code, as the joint research by WAO and Vase.ai found that about 36% of their respondents had encountered stalkers, which led to anxiety and physical assault.
“Victims of stalkers need protection from the authorities and one way to do it is to criminalise such behaviour,” it stressed.
On related matter, JAG also called upon the Government to amend Employment Act 1955 by providing protection to job-seekers and allow seven days paternity leave to fathers.
“Among other things that needs to be included in the amendment are maternity leave to be extended to 98 days and protecting from being dismissed due to pregnancy.
“Plus, we also must provide zero tolerance measures to any form of discrimination among workers and job-seekers,” it remarked. – June 19, 2021
