ASSIGNMENT

OUMM3203

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

MAY SEMESTER 2021

Malaysia is indeed a country characterised by the rich diversity of its peoples. Along with the
great opportunities that this brings, comes the challenge of ensuring that no group or
individual in society suffers discrimination or disadvantage linked to their personal
characteristics. Workplace ethics are standards or codes that determines right and wrong
moral behaviour in the work environment. Discrimination is defined as “the unjust or
prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of
race, age, or sex.” (Oxford Dictionary). Workplace discrimination deals with issues such as
religion, race, gender, disability, age, and sexual orientation. Positive workplace ethics should
be a part of every company. Employers are required by laws to ensure that employees are
treated fairly in the workplace and not discriminated in the workplace.

“Discrimination” means being treated differently or unfairly. Discrimination in employment

is illegal when the treatment is based on a personal characteristic or status, such as sex or
race, which is protected under anti-discrimination laws. Since the law prohibits
discrimination based only on certain protected categories, not every form of discriminatory or
unfair treatment is illegal. Discrimination can be expressed through “harassment,” when a
boss, supervisor, or co-worker says or does something that creates an intimidating, hostile or
threatening work environment. Harassment is illegal if it is based on a personal characteristic
or status protected under anti-discrimination laws. To be illegal, the harassment must be so
“severe or pervasive” that it interferes with the employee’s ability to perform the job.
Several federal and state laws protect people against many types of discrimination in
employment. There are various federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

Why racial harassment is classified as an ethical problem in workplace because the right to
equality requires that members of all religious and belief groups and those who do not
subscribe to any religion should be able to participate in any area of economic, social,
political, cultural and civil life on an equal basis. The main religions in Malaysia are Islam,
Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, and there is a close relationship between race and
religion. In carrying out research for this report, no statistics was found which disaggregate
on the basis of religion data relating to education, employment, health care, etc. It is therefore
not possible to draw precise conclusions relating to the impact which an individual’s religion
has on their ability to participate equally in these areas. Research has, however, identified
patterns of discrimination in which an individual’s religion impacts on their ability to practice
that religion freely, change religion, and enjoy certain human rights. Discrimination on the
grounds of religion and belief in Malaysia affects members of all religious groups, including
members of the majority Muslim community and the minority religious communities such as
Hindus and Christians.

Finally, there is belief-based discrimination against all Muslims who express beliefs not
approved by official interpreters of Islam in respect of their right to participate in cultural life
on an equal basis. Malaysia has therefore been unable to reconcile the position of Islam as the
official religion with its obligation to protect the right to equality for members of all religions.
Every workplace consists of people who come from different cultural, religious or social
backgrounds. These differences may give rise to discrimination, regardless of the fact that
many countries enact regulations to curb its occurrence. Discrimination in the workplace
occurs in different forms based on characteristics, such as age, gender, race, marital status or
ethnic background.

Discrimination is prejudicial treatment toward a person because of a group they are a part of.
While laws are in place to prevent discrimination in the workplace, many people still find
themselves being discriminated against at work every day. Recognising the types of
workplace discrimination will enable you to identify discrimination when it occurs, whether
you, a co-worker or another employee is the victim. Discrimination based on race or country
of origin is prohibited, but that does not mean the practice does not exist. People may
experience racial discrimination in the form of harassment around the work place.

Sex-based discrimination takes on many forms at work. Sexual harassment is one of the most
obvious forms, and may include unwanted sexual advances, propositions or crude remarks
toward an employee. 
Discrimination based on religion involves treating a person unfairly because of his religious
affiliation, and is prohibited. Religious discrimination includes harassment and preferential
or negative treatment.

Currently, in Malaysia the number of discrimination and harassment are more on one’s race.
Racism is everywhere, but identifying racial harassment in the workforce can be complicated.
What one employee may call “an innocent joke” may be perceived as purposefully
demeaning, or even threatening to the joke’s recipient. Displaying discriminatory symbols on
or offline, mocking a person’s accent, making unwelcome comments about a person’s race,
telling derogatory jokes, using racial slurs and expressing general intolerance toward any
particular race group are all common displays of racial harassment. Malaysia has been a
multicultural society who comes together as one. However, racial discrimination often
happens in discernment and explication of Malaysia’s labour market. According to
Discrimination of High Degrees: Race and Graduate Hiring in Malaysia from Lee Hwok
Aun, the problem of discrimination in hiring and promotion often happens specifically
against non-Malays in the Malay-controlled public sector and Malay in Chinese and
foreigner-controlled private sector. Therefore, it is fruitful to understand the law in labour law
of Malaysia as the first step in avoiding any discrimination.

To add on, about the response to the news concerning the ban on wearing “tudung” imposed
by hotel owners on employees, proposals to amend the Employment Act 1955 were put
forward by the Human Resources Ministry to address, among others, the issue of workplace
discrimination. The ban had rightfully sparked debate about the issue of workplace
discrimination, and the proposal for amendment was certainly a much needed move to fill in
the gaps of our existing laws. Unfortunately, due to the recent dissolution of parliament, any
amendments to the law will have to be shelved for the time being. While there is not yet any
specific legislation to tackle the issue, can individuals nonetheless rely on existing laws for
protection? Where does the law currently stand in terms of protection against discriminatory
practices in the workplace?

There have also been situations of employers blatantly specifying their preference for certain
races in job vacancies or job applications (eg: “Chinese only”, “Malay only”). While many
have argued that these discriminatory practices are in violation of the Federal Constitution,
cases on discrimination are bound to fail if they involve infringement of an individual’s legal
right by another individual/or entity (eg: a private sector employer) by virtue of the Federal
Court’s decision in Beatrice a/p AT Fernandez (supra). There is also the additional problem
that even without advertising their preference, employers could be rejecting candidates for
discriminatory reasons anyway; since employers are under no obligation to inform candidates
why they were rejected, it would be difficult to prove that such discriminatory practices were
taking place. The challenge to bring a discrimination case is further amplified by the want of
clarity as to what amounts to discrimination because the constitution in Malaysia, Article 8 is
the cornerstone of Constitutional protection of the rights to equality and non-discrimination.
Article 8(1) stated that: “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal
protection of the law. 589 Article 8(2) stated that there shall be no discrimination against
citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law or in
the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in an administration
of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or
carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment. 590 Article 8(2)
offers a limited protection from discrimination, in terms of the types of individuals which it
seeks to protect, and the scope of protection it offers to those it does protect. No
discrimination on grounds of race, descent, place of birth, or gender.”

Listening to the victims and creating a safe environment in which they can report and discuss
any and all signs of potential racial discrimination can help you address and deal with the
problem up front. Additionally, it is important to hold employees accountable for what they
post online whenever it crosses a line or makes another person feel uncomfortable.

As an employer, one needs to understand what racial discrimination is, how to identify
provide trainings to help their employees to understand the severity of it and set up a system
in place to safely report discrimination cases. To be more specific:

Offer employees training on their rights and responsibilities. Have disciplinary actions in
place with proper guidance. If such harassment happens, the company should look further
into it and, where appropriate, disciplinary action should be taken accordingly. Pay close
attention to harassment on racial discrimination which can be offensive and emotional for the
victim. Document complaints quickly, interview the parties and keep an eye closed on the
aftermath after an investigation. The complaining employee should be made to feel safe
returning to work with the harasser. If otherwise, the employer should find other solutions
such as transfer to another department to keep apart both parties or terminating the harasser. 
Then, as an employee there are informal and formal options if one believes they are
experiencing racial discrimination. The informal approach would be letting your employers
know your concern and do not assume they will take a sanatory action. If there’s an incident
of discrimination happens, document them and update the management or Human Resources
if the harassment continues. If the company provides a satisfactory resolution, there may not
be necessary to escalate the complaints. However, if the solution is dissatisfied, one can file a
complaint with an administrative agency or court.

Know these things where one may be a victim of racial discrimination if one is facing the
following situations:

Hiring/Firing/Promotions: If you have splendid qualifications and job experiences but not
hired because the company is not comfortable working with Indians, Malays or other races.
You are being laid off by the company while colleagues of other races with the same role
sustain their jobs. You have been long with the company and have a splendid performance
but did not get a promotion. Instead, the position is filled by people who might be less
qualified.

Job Pay: A new manager with similar working experience recently hired and, you found out
that he got a higher pay than you when you worked up from an executive position to a
manager role. You are the top salesperson for your company but are moved to an infamous
territory while an employee of a different race who doesn’t perform well is given with your
territory and client base.

Job classification: You job responsibilities became heavy. However, there are no changes in
your job classification and pay adjustment to reflect the responsibilities.

The steps could be taken on the enforcement of Law for instance, Malaysia is urged to adopt
appropriate constitutional and legislative measures for the implementation of the right to
equality. Such measures should ensure comprehensive protection across all grounds of
discrimination and in all areas of activity regulated by law. The constitutional protections of
the rights to equality and non-discrimination are currently severely limited. It is therefore
recommended to amend the Federal Constitution in order for Malaysia to comply fully with
its international human rights obligations.

Ensuring that both citizens and non-citizens benefit from the protections of the rights to
equality and non-discrimination, through amendment of Article 8(2) of the Federal
Constitution, among others. Broadening the list of grounds of discrimination found in
Articles 8 and 12 so as to include all grounds referenced in Principle 5 of the Declaration of
Principles on Equality including political opinion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age,
disability, health status and nationality; and allow for a test for the inclusion of additional
grounds, so that such grounds could be incorporated as necessary over time without requiring
constitutional amendments and providing a clearer definition of what behaviours are
prohibited as discrimination;

Extending the protection of the rights to equality and non-discrimination to all areas of
activity regulated by law and ensuring that the rights to equality and non-discrimination are
enjoyed in both the public and private sector. Removing the exclusion of personal laws from
the prohibition of discrimination;

Ensuring that any provisions permitting positive action in order to overcome past
disadvantage and to accelerate the progress towards equality of particular groups meet criteria
established in international law and best practice, such as time limits and proportionality and
removing from Article 8(5) of the Federal Constitution the list of exceptions to the
prohibition on discrimination or ensuring that any exceptions to the principle of equality are
only permitted to the extent that they accord with strictly defined criteria, and are justified as
a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate objective. It is further recommended that
Malaysia should also consider strengthening the existing constitutional protections of the
rights to equality and non-discrimination through the enactment of comprehensive equality
legislation.

Moreover, “Employers should use employee workplace assessments, satisfaction surveys and
data to find out which policies to implement," This helps retain employees, raise productivity
and morale, lower absenteeism, and ultimately, boost the bottom line. Employees' rights in
the workplace protect them from not just discrimination, but hazardous working conditions
and wrongful terminations, as well. Employees possess the right to fair treatment, which
protects them from workplace harassment and discrimination. Fair treatment also guarantees
workers' right to access reasonable workplace accommodation to cope with their disability
needs or practice their beliefs. Racial discrimination is not an uncommon situation in the
workplace. Employers should be fair and responsible to investigate any issue that they
became aware. Do not be afraid to voice out when you faced such a situation and speak out to
your management and HR department when it is appropriate. Lastly, you can’t change what’s
in peoples’ hearts, but you can, with many precedents and laws on your side, remove anyone
from your team who refuses to respect their peers on the basis of race. Discrimination must
also be prohibited when it is on the ground of the association of a person with other persons
to whom a prohibited ground applies or the perception, whether accurate or otherwise, of a
person as having a characteristic associated with a prohibited ground. Despite the necessity of
effective legal redress and remedies in order to ensure that the rights to equality and non-
discrimination are effective, the enforcement mechanisms available to victims of
discrimination in Malaysia are inadequate. In the absence of a single equality body with
responsibility for overseeing the enforcement of the rights to equality and non-discrimination
set out in the Federal Constitution, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia arguably has
a role to play in this regard. Further, victims of discrimination face additional obstacles in
seeking legal redress and remedies as a result of legal aid provision being unavailable for
claims of discrimination, a very narrow interpretation of the right to equality by the Federal
Court and Court of Appeal, and a lack of sanctions which can be imposed upon
discriminators. The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) is an independent international organisation
whose purpose is to combat discrimination and promote equality as a fundamental human
right and a basic principle of social justice.