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Kuala Lumpur: THE e-filing system for sexual harassment victims to alert the Tribunal for Anti-Sexual Harassment (TAGS) being developed by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) is expected to start operation next year.

KPWKM Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said the system would facilitate sexual harassment victims nationwide to file complainants to TAGS online considering the geographical constraints in Sabah and Sarawak.

“This tribunal can sit on any day, time and place, as determined by the president (tribunal) and the Ministry also appoints tribunal members from Sabah and Sarawak, if there are complaints in the states on the East Coast, this tribunal can sit there,” she said at Dewan Negara question and answer session Thursday. 

She was replying to a supplementary question by Senator Anna Bell who wanted to know the ministry’s consideration of establishing Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunals in Sabah and Sarawak to facilitate the hearing of cases in the two states that face geographical challenges.

Answering a question from Senator Datuk Dr Arman Azha Abu Hanifah who wanted to know the statistics of sexual harassment and deterioration of mental health among the Malaysian community, Noraini said until July 2024, a total of five complaints of sexual harassment have been received by TAGS since it was established on March 8.

“Statistics by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) show that cases reported for Offences under Sections 292, 354, 377D, 507A and 509 of the Penal Code, which refer to cases of sexual harassment are 1,483 cases in 2021, 1,455 cases in 2022, and 1,621 cases in the year 2023.

 “For cases of sexual harassment involving men reported from 2019 to 2023, there were 484 victims, which is 6.3 per cent of all cases for the same period,” she said.