The government is looking into formulating laws on sexual harassment, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim said today.

She said the suggestion for such a law had come from Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“A law I have been asked to look into very seriously is a Sexual Harassment Act.

“Khairy just informed me that one of the things the youths mentioned they want is a Sexual Harassment Act, maybe stalking will be included (in the Act) too,” Rohani told a press conference after her ministry’s International Women’s Day 2018 event at Limkokwing University in Cyberjaya.

Meanwhile, she said her ministry had completed the framework for the proposed Gender Equality Act, a piece of legislation to address discrimination against both women and men.

Next, the ministry will hold “buy-ins” with stakeholders before tabling it in Parliament.

“(We are) getting a lot of activists, NGOs... universities and professors.

“I want good buy-ins, so when it goes into Parliament, people will already know about it,” Rohani said.

However, she doubted the legislation would be ready in time to be tabled in the present parliamentary sitting, scheduled to end on April 4.

It was previously reported that her ministry also intends to amend the Employment Act 1955 and Domestic Violence Act 1994 to bring them in line with the proposed gender equality legislation.

In her bid to encourage more women representation in the Dewan Rakyat, Rohani said she welcomed former Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah’s (photo) decision to enter politics and offered some advice. 

“People like us who are already politicians, we must be the best example to all people out there, (so that they) come and join.

“For people like Maria, we welcome. But don’t come in only for political reasons, come in for something you want to fight for,” she said.

Maria has offered herself as an independent candidate to Pakatan Harapan and previously explained that her decision to enter politics was to bring issues of electoral reform and gender equality into Parliament.