Najib declared in his Budget Speech that 2018 is Year of Women Empowerment. However until today, we are still not quite sure what this will entail.
One of the most important initiatives announced during the Budget Speech aimed at supporting women is to increase the mandatory maternity leave in private sector from 60 days to 90 days, to match what is offered by public sector.
In December last year, Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib was reported saying that private sector employers can be investigated and prosecuted if they dismiss female staff who take 90 days maternity leave.
However, such statement only shows the ignorance of the Deputy Minister. The fact remains that without amendments to Section 37 of the Employment Act 1995, Section 83 of the Sabah Labour Ordinance and Section 84 of the Sarawak Labour Ordinance in the Dewan Rakyat, the initiative announced by Najib Razak in the 2018 Budget speech was meaningless as there is no provision in law to allow the Government to prosecute the employers if they refuse to give 90-day maternity leave, as admitted by the Minister of Human Resources yesterday in Dewan Rakyat when questioned by me.
Therefore, 5 months since the announcement, the announcement remains a proposal. And it is sad to find out from the Minister of Human Resources yesterday that his ministry has no intention to table the bill to amend Employment Act in this Parliament Sitting.
How much longer does the BN government need to amend a simple provision? And when will BN finally disclose its full plan to empower women in 2018?
It takes a woman 10 months from conception to give birth. How long does the BN government need to fulfill a simple promise? I certainly hope that it does not take more than 10 months!