Anti-discrimination laws should be preventive, not reactive

THE Association for Community and Dialogue (Acid) welcomes the proposed amendments to the Employment Act 1955 (EA 55), which were tabled for the first reading at the Dewan Rakyat in October this year; the second reading is expected to take place between Dec 16 and 18.

While we welcome the government’s initiative to meet international standards of labour law, we are concerned by a new section relating to discrimination in employment. The proposed amendment states that the director- general of Labour may inquire into and decide any dispute between an employer and his/her employee “relating to discrimination in employment” and make an order pursuant to the decision.