Is the Issue of Justice for Women not a Necessity?

by Dr Prema Devaraj

It was surprising that the Prime Minister�s Department Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Noh Omar could say (The Sun 25 Oct 2000) that there is no sex discrimination in the Immigration Act . He is ill informed.

Under the Immigration Act 1963, Section 12 a female holder of a work pass or work permit cannot have the name of her husband endorsed on the pass or permit. However a male holder of a work pass or work permit has the right to endorse his wife�s name on the pass or permit. Under Section 10 of the Immigration Regulations 1963, a foreign husband cannot be issued a Dependent�s pass to enter Malaysia. This makes it extremely difficult for women (including Malaysian women) in Malaysia to be accompanied by their husbands when they are working in Malaysia unlike their male counterparts who are entitled to bring their wives along as Dependants. Thus foreign husbands of Malaysian women who decide to live in Malaysia are not allowed to work (unless they can get an employer to apply for a work permit for them) and can only be allowed to enter Malaysia on a visitor�s pass, or tourist visa, and stay for short periods of time unlike foreign wives who enter on Dependant�s passes and can apply to work.

So when Datuk Noh Omar says that research by the Home Ministry has shown that there is no sex discrimination in the Immigration Act, one is left wondering how this conclusion was arrived at when it is so clear that such discrimination exists.

Other Discriminatory Laws

The legal discrimination faced by women does not end with the Immigration Act. There are of course the Citizenship Related laws. A Malaysian woman married to a foreigner can confer her Malaysian nationality on her child only if the child is born in Malaysia (Federal Constitution Part III). However a Malaysian man married to a foreigner can confer his nationality on his child whether or not his child is born within or outside Malaysia. This causes a lot of problems for Malaysian women married to foreigners living abroad. There is also the situation where a foreign husband of a Malaysian woman cannot become a Malaysian citizen by registration under Article 15(I) of the Constitution unlike a foreign wife of a Malaysian man who can obtain citizenship under that law if she fulfils certain residential and character qualifications.

With the Employee�s Social Security Act 1969 (SOCSO) Section 26, (and the Fourth Schedule) a female worker who makes the same contribution to SOCSO as a male worker has no right to confer the same benefit to her spouse upon her death unless her husband can prove that he is �wholly or mainly dependent on the earnings of the deceased insured person at the time of her death�.

Under the Workmen�s Compensation Act 1952 (revised 1982) in the event a workman who contributed to the Workmen�s Compensation Fund dies at work, compensation is payable to his dependants. Section 10 of the Act states that if the compensation (maximum RM 10,000) is to be paid to a woman (or a minor or a person with a legal disability) then the money must be deposited with a Commissioner who has the sole discretion to decide whether to invest, apply or otherwise deal with the money for the benefit of the woman, minor or person under a legal disability.

Under the Pension Act 1980, a widow has to share her pension if her husband has other wives and she will lose his pension if she remarries. On the other hand a man with more than one wife can draw more than one pension if his working wives die.

Amend the Law

The examples given above are by no means a complete list of laws or articles or sections or schedules with provisions which specifically discriminate against women. Women in Malaysia face legal discrimination. This is a fact. Malaysian women, men and especially women�s groups, have called upon the Malaysian government time and again to end legal discrimination against women in Malaysia.

The Federal Constitution states that people should not be discriminated against on the grounds of religion, race, descent or place of birth. Unfortunately there is no mention of sex or gender. This means that the current laws and their provisions that specifically discriminate against women are legal and their on-going implementation continues to keep women in a disadvantaged position.

Malaysia is a signatory to the Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Having signed this in 1995, the Malaysian government is legally bound to put the provisions of the Convention into practice. The government would do well to first amend Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution so as to remove discrimination against any person on the grounds of sex.

It is very clear which laws are discriminatory and suggested amendments have already been made, many times, by the various women�s groups. Given the government�s rhetoric on improving the position of women in society why then do these laws still exist? According to Datuk Noh Omar, any law can be amended or repealed when necessary. Is the issue of justice for women not a necessity?

As long as discriminatory laws, procedures and prejudices continue to exist, the rights of women will be restricted and women will continue to be dependent and disadvantaged. As long as people continue to go along with this system, as long as those in power continue to maintain these and other unjust laws, our country cannot truthfully talk about progress or justice.