Complaints of sexual harrassment from employees should be taken seriously: Hannah Yeoh

KUALA LUMPUR: Employers are urged to take seriously complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace made by their employees.
Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh said employers must investigate the allegatins even though some were difficult to prove.
"Take the complaint seriously. I believe this can happen anywhere, to anyone. And if the complaints are taken lightly, I am sure the victims will be suffering in silence," she told reporters after officiating the 'Women In Dentistry 2018' forum organised by the Dentistry Faculty of Universiti Teknologi Mara in Sungai Buloh here.
Yeoh was responding to reports of sexual harassment involving the head of the orthopaedic department in a hospital in the Klang Valley recently.
Commenting further, she said her ministry had discussed the investigations into the complaints with the Health Ministry.
Yeoh urged the victims in the case to send an email directly to Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
"Several complainants have come to us to lodge complaints, we will see how serious the complaints are. We encourage more (people) to please come forward, don't be afraid because the others have spoken up. We are starting to hear (more) and I think there is a need for a sense of urgency on this issue," she said, adding that the issue would be investigated fairly.
Yeoh added that it was the responsibility of the heads of all agencies to create a safe work environment.
Yesterday, Dr Dzulkefly said an independent investigation body comprising representatives of the Health Ministry, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry and relevant government agencies had been set up to investigate the case.
Meanwhile in her speech, Yeoh noted that was a growing number of women in the dental industry.
"The latest 2017 statistics showed that 68.10% or 5,877 of dental practitioners registered with the Malaysian Dental Council are female compared to 31.82% or 2,743 male practitioners. The data recorded is a significant increase of 21.33% or 4, 844 female dental practitioners as compared to 2016," she said.
She also added that there was an improvement in the dentist-to-patient ratio from one dentist to 6, 436 people in 2012 to one dentist for 4, 297 people by the end of 2016. — Bernama