Malaysia acceded to UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010

In 2010 Malaysia acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). CRPD requires countries to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, including during recruitment and the course of employment.

Malaysia has done little to implement CRPD. By protecting against discrimination based on disability status in the Employment Act, Malaysia could take an important step towards its CRPD obligations.

A survey of 1,027 Malaysians conducted by Vase.ai in collaboration with Undi18, Architects of Diversity, and WAO found that 91 per cent agree that more policies should be in place to create a fair working environment for women, 84 per cent agree that more policies should be in place for women to be granted the same job opportunities as men, 74 per cent agree it should be illegal for employers to refuse to hire a woman because she is pregnant, 78 per cent Malaysians agree that employers should not be allowed to prescribe race in job applications, while 63 per cent of Malaysians agree that employers should not be allowed to prescribe language requirements in job applications.

“The undersigned groups once again reiterate our support for amending the Employment Act to include protections against discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, religion, and disability status for both employees and job seekers, and urge the Ministry of Human Resources to table these amendments in Parliament in November 2020,” WAO added.

This has been endorsed by AMMPO-SENTRO, All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), Association of Women Lawyers (AWL), ENGENDER Consultancy, Foreign Spouses

Support Group (FSSG), Justice for Sisters, KRYSS Network, Labour Law Reform Coalition (LLRC), Malaysian Association of Social Workers (MASW), North South Initiative (NSI), Parti Sosialis Malaysia, Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER), Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS), People Like Us Support Ourselves (PLUsos), Sabah Women’s Action Resource Group (SAWO), Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS), SEED Malaysia, Sisters in Islam (SIS), Speak Up Malaysia, SUARAM (Suara Rakyat Malaysia), Tenaganita, WAO and Women’s Centre for Change (WCC) Penang.