PARLIAMENT The government is formulating a Gender Equality Act to tackle cases of discrimination against women.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim hopes there will be a lot of engagement, with valid proposals, to make the proposed Act a solid one.

Rohani revealed this while answering a question from Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Kulai) who called for such an Act to protect women from discrimination in the workplace.

The minister said besides the Gender Equality Act, the ministry is also seeking to amend several laws, such as the Employment Act, the Pensions Act, the Penal Code, and the Domestic Violence Act.

Rohani's predecessor, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, had mulled a gender equality law back in 2006 but nothing came of it.

Rohani herself was earlier this year reported as saying that the government would prefer to use persuasion, rather than regulation, to promote gender equality.

“For us, persuasive methods are more effective in the long run, as we prefer to achieve our aims through cooperation and collaboration.

“We can have laws, but I see that what we are doing now through our policies and programmes are proceeding well,” Rohani was quoted as saying by The Star in March.

She had also said then that policies to have at least 30 percent of women as decision-makers had been exceeded by the public sector at 35 percent.

However, in the private sector, Rohani said, the figure was only at 15.6 percent.