Women, Family and Community Development deputy minister Heng Seai Kie has urged female tour guides to speak out against employers who force them to share rooms with male colleagues.

Heng said that female tour guides must be brave to report such cases or cases of sexual discrimination.

NONE “Without a report, the ministry is unable to take any action. We have more than 2,000 tour operators in the country and we are unable to keep track of all of them.

“I am picking this issue up in my position as Women, Family and Community Development deputy minister, and I urge any female tour guides to come to me with their problems or to communicate their problems to the Tourism Ministry to enable us to take action for justice,” said Heng ( above ) in a statement yesterday.

She also urged the Malaysian Women Tourist Guide Association (MWTGA) to step up its role in educating its members about their rights under the law, and to help them lodge reports with the authorities in the event of any transgressions.

china tourist in malaysia 060905 Heng explained that a new by-law was introduced in June 2009 to forbid tour companies from forcing female tour guides to share rooms with their male colleagues.

“If there is proof of any violation of the above rule, then the tour agency will risk having its license revoked,” she said.

She stressed that the law is in place but needs the cooperation of the (MWTGA) and its members for it to be effective.

Female guides discriminated

Heng was commenting on news reports that a tour bus driver had tried to force himself on a tour guide while out on an assignment in Malacca.

            

china tourist 050905 The incident occurred in a hotel room that their employer had allegedly made them share.

According to a China Press report, the driver, in his 50s, had asked the 29-year-old woman for sex on the night of  May 16 and the victim refused.

“I shouted ‘no' and tried to use the blanket to cover myself but the driver, who was only wearing his underwear, still tried to sexually harass me and even kiss me,” the victim had claimed.

The driver only relented after she put up a struggle and attempted to leave the room. She learned from other tour guides that similar incidents had happened before.

The victim also said she did not lodge any police report because she was afraid of losing her job.

The MWTGA has previously complained that female tour guides are prone to discrimination, sexual harassment and other offences.

However, MWTGA complained that many tour operators usually sideline female tour guides who request not to share rooms with their male colleagues.