Sexual harassment in Malaysia

"A change of government may have caused a bump in the road but since the bill was already prepared and was merely at the point of being tabled, this was a bump that the government could have handled... Any questions on the bill and its draft could be referred to the stakeholder organisations that were involved and we would have been happy to support the government in this way... By not focusing on the bill in the past year, the government has also lost the chance to ensure that a proper allocation of resources is set aside during the 2021 budget, to ensure an effective implementation of the bill."

"While I was attending the patient, he made a phone call to a woman and turned on the loudspeaker on his phone. During the conversation, I was drawing his blood and I heard the woman ask what he was doing to which he answered, 'I'm having sex with the staff nurse and if you don't believe me, you can make a video call.' I was worried because there were only two of us in the room."

"We have referred the case to the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) on 13 August and the DPP said there will be no charges against the suspect. This is on grounds that the suspect has already faced disciplinary action from UM that was triggered by the victim's complaints... The victim previously made a police report at UM and UM had conducted investigations and took action against the (associate) professor. He has been demoted and has retired in June, if I'm not mistaken."

"This bill is necessary as the existing law only regulates sexual harassment crimes that occur in the workplace when instead it should include public space as well."

"In the beginning, I thought that was normal because it always happens... But after hearing the experience of other activists, I feel this was inappropriate and should be labelled as sexual harassment."

"Were you a virgin, how did it feel, was his penis big, did it hurt...Sex is supposed to be great, sex is good, sex feels and everyone should have a lot of sex."

"We think there are a lot more cases related to sexual harassment which have gone unreported... And, this is because some of victims may feel it is not worth it to go through all the trouble and in the end justice is not served."

"I would like to suggest to the minister, if we could create a Sexual Harassment Act for men to deal with the acts, speech or dressing of women that could seduce men into committing incest, rape, molest and pornography, among other things."

"A handful of frontliners at police stations still make insensitive remarks to victims... They pass comments that what they were wearing may have invited such a response from the men."

"How did this become viral when the report has been retracted? That bothers me as to which party made the issue public... I hope the media will not prolong it because that will damage the reputation of the girl who has a future ahead of her and must be protected."

"There is some truth in that (case). We are taking action on that. I cannot say when but it would be immediate... So far, there have been reports, allegations and even 'surat layang' (poison-pen letter) on this. We are looking into the matter seriously."

"NUJ suggests, in the view that sexual harassment is part of the challenges faced by female journalists, that they present themselves in an appropriate manner and be firm while on duty. For example, do not dress in an overtly sexy outfit, decline interviews at inappropriate places like night clubs or politicians' homes. Female journalists must have integrity and an appropriate manner to obtain news."

"If little things like covering the eyes, pinching the nose or hug I can still accept since it’s just a poster but if it is towards harassment or sexual, I feel that is too far... They may just be joking, but I feel ashamed because that is still myself although it is just an image."

"The abuse happened on a daily basis... I just wanted to work, but ended up being treated this way. There is no respect for women, for local staff. I want justice as my rights as a woman were violated both morally and emotionally."

"It is the right of the employer to request potential flight attendants to expose their chests to interviewers."

"In these cases, some perpetrators are men. We do have cases of men being harassed by women, especially female bosses, although it is rare. In such cases, female bosses try to take advantage of their position over the men."