The government should provide more 'legal teeth' against sexual harassment by legislating a law which will compel companies to take the issue more seriously, said a researcher today.

Dr Cecilia Ng suggested that by legislating a law it will strengthen the present code of practice against sexual harassment.

"Although the code is good, the impact is low," the lecturer told journalists during a press conference at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

The Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace was introduced by the Human Resource Ministry in August 1999.

However, the code is not compulsory but was implemented voluntarily by some companies.

Ng said that even the International Labour Organisation has argued for a national legislation because it would give a clear definition to sexual harassment, with legal procedures to address the matter.

'Seriously push'

The Star today quoted Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil as saying that her ministry would "seriously push" for the enactment of the Sexual Harassment Act if the current code proves to be unsuccessful.

"The code is in its infancy. It must be given time to create awareness and to persuade companies to adopt the code," added the minister.

Shahrizat also said that her ministry will monitor the implementation of the code and conduct a review of its effectiveness in March next year.

Earlier, Ng, together with her research assistant Zanariah Mohd Nor, presented the executive summary from the report entitled 'Sexual Harassment and the Code of Practice in Malaysia'.

The report was the result of a study on six pioneer local companies which implemented the code.

Among others, the study found that 35 percent out of a total of 1,483 respondents reported that they had experienced one or more forms of sexual harassment in their workplace.

It was found that a significant percentage of female respondents (38 percent) indicated that they had experienced sexual harassment as compared to their male counterparts (32 percent).

According to the report, the most common form of harassment was verbal (30.7 percent) followed by physical harassment (9.8 percent).

It was interesting to note that16 male respondents perceived that they were being'sexually harassed' by 'sexily-dressed' women, the report said.

However, it was also acknowledged that very few companies were willing to implement the code.

Ng said only 1.12 percent of the total of 400,000 companies in Malaysia has adopted the code.

Low awareness as well as a lack of in-house mechanisms and procedures to address sexual harassment were among the reasons that deterred many companies from adopting the code, Ng said.

A Universiti Kebangsaan law lecturer who attended the launch, Dr Rohani Abdul Rahim, concurred that the current code of practice was not effective because it lacked legal implications.

She suggested that the code could be 'legalised' by including it in the collective agreement to ensure that employers take the appropriate actions against sexual harassment in their companies.

Landmark case

Sexual harassment in Malaysia was thrust into the limelight in 1996 following the landmark case of Lilian Therera De Costa vs Jennico Associates Sdn Bhd.

De Costa, a former director of a hotel, who claimed that she had been constructively dismissed, alleged that a managing director harassed her by kissing and fondling her on two occasions.

After she told him to stop the offensive behaviour, she was subjected to verbal harassment and fault finding until she finally resigned.

Although the Industrial Court found that she was constructively dismissed, the High Court later set aside the decision.

De Costa has since brought the case to the Appeal Court and the decision is pending.

The case is considered as 'providing the impetus to highlight the plight of the silent complainants of sexual harassment'.