Malaysia passes Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill with very minor amendments, despite widespread criticism
Helen Saulnier
2 min read
Malaysia’s Dewan Rakyat (Property of Reps) has passed the Anti-Sexual Harassment Invoice 2021, regardless of unaddressed fears of significant shortcomings in the Monthly bill.
The Monthly bill was initially tabled for its 1st reading through in December 2021 (Study our preceding submit: “Malaysia’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill tabled in Parliament”). It was then withdrawn from a second studying before in 2022, with the govt indicating that it would be drastically reviewed pursuing sturdy responses acquired from many parties. Unfortunately, the Invoice which was passed this 7 days only had pretty minor amendments from the to start with draft.
Because of to the minimal revisions created from the initial draft, our summary of the Invoice printed in December 2021 is however typically exact: https://themalaysianlawyer.com/2021/12/15/anti-sexual-harassment-bill/
These are the substance alterations in the up to date variation of the Bill:
- A new Clause 7(3) is integrated, introducing a limitation period of time for sexual harassment issues: “A criticism referred to the Tribunal under this Act is matter to the Limitation Act 1953.”
- While the authentic edition provided that events at the hearing of a sexual harassment complaint cannot be represented by an advocate and solicitor, this has been revised [at Clause 13(2)] to deliver that authorized illustration will be allowed if “in the impression of the Tribunal, the make any difference in question will involve complex difficulties of law”. The revisions also deliver that if one particular celebration is authorized to represented by an advocate and solicitor, then the other party will also be so entitled.
With these incredibly restricted modifications, it seems that the problems lifted by various legal rights organisations who had hoped for “a meticulous review of the Bill” have been left unheard. Time will tell whether the new extended-awaited legislation will be in depth ample to guard the legal rights and wellbeing of sexual harassment victims.
