The Malaysia Employment Law Conference 2019 edition (Version 1.0 & 2.0 respectively)

KUALA LUMPUR | The year 2019 is indeed an interesting year especially for both Q3 Management Solutions Sdn Bhd and MyFreelys Academy, both as Title Sponsor and Organizer (respectively) for the annual Malaysia Employment Law Conference (MELC).

Why was it interesting for them? It is because they co-organized not one but two, back to back conferences on the Malaysia Employment Law area in July’19 (Version 1.0) and August’19 (Version 2.0) respectively.

Let’s zoom into the MELC 2019 (Version 1.0)

The Version 1.0 was centered on the theme ~ Gender Inclusiveness, Discrimination and Maternity Support.

Held at the Aloft KL-Sentral Hotel, this conference was graced by the Yang Berhormat Chong Eng, who is the Penang Exco Member (Women and Family Development, Gender Equality and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs). Her key-note address to the audience of 100 HR delegates present, was on the ‘Gender Responsive & Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) and Gender Inclusiveness Policy.

Next, we have Mr. Heera Singh, the Principal Consultant HEERA Training & Management Consultancy and Author of Human Resource Documentation shares his thoughts on ‘Celebrating Diversity & Workplace Harmony via Engagement’.

Then, Ms. Nurul Hafidzah Hassan,  a senior partner at Nurul Hafidzah & Associates took over the stage and present her papers on “Bullies & Sexual Predators BE GONE”. What are the best legal measures in combating workplace bullying including sexual harassment.

Just before lunch break, Mr. Lim Chee Gay, the Chief Human Officer at Teledirect Telecommerce presented his topic on ‘Integrate Diversity and Inclusion into Hiring Strategies’.

After lunch, Ms. Esther Ong Hui Chuen, the Managing Partner of Messrs Esther Ong Tengku Saiful & Sree (Advocate & Solicitor) presented her papers on ‘Maternity Protection – Is Your Organization Supporting Women OR Disrupting Them From Progress on Their Career Progression?’

Following after the evening tea-break,  Dr. S. Selvanathan took over the stage and present on ‘The Poor Performance VS Misconduct. What are the common pitfalls faced  by the HR practitioner?’

Lastly, the conference program ended with the Panel Discussion on ‘Best HR Practices VS The Law? Flexible Working Hours OR Proving Absent from Work!’ with the panelists line-up such as Mr. Zamir Hamdy Hamdan, the Assistant Vice President Industrial Relations (Human Capital) of Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad, Mr Jeya Kumar Vaithilingam, Partner at Kanesalingam & Co. (Advocates & Solicitors), Mr. Lim Chee Gay (Chief Human Resources Officer, Teledirect  Telecommerce with En. Mohd Sidki Hasan, Special Project Director of Q3 Management Solutions Sdn Bhd as the Moderator.

On the following day, there were 2 workshops conducted simultaneously with Dr. S. Selvanathan doing the topic on ‘Managing Difficult Employees at Workplace’ and Mr. Jeya Kumar Vaithilingam, doing the topic on ‘Getting Wrongful Dismissal Claims Right at the Industrial Court’.

The Version 2.0 of the MELC 2019

The second version was held in conjunction with the proposed amendments on the Employment Act 1955 and the Industrial Relations Act 1967.

Held at Sunway Putra Hotel (KL), there were four main key topics voted by the HR Practitioners which they would like to understand before the next parliament seating which was scheduled to take place in October 2019 soon.

The Version 2.0 was kicked off by Puan Emilia, The Managing Director of Q3 Management Solutions Sdn Bhd with a welcome note to the delegates.

Next, Mr. Simon Benjamin of the Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management (MIHRM) delivered his key-note address.

Then, for the first session, Ms. Tahirah Manesah, the HR Manager of FFM Berhad & Panel Member of the Industrial Court of Malaysia took the stage and delivered her topic on ‘Workplace Discrimination: Definitions and Perspectives’.

Mr. Amardeep Singh Toor Amar Singh, a Senior Associate at Lee Hishammuddin, Allen & Gledhill came in for the second session. He presented his thoughts on the ‘Establishment of the Industrial Appeal Court and its impact to the IR court system’.

After lunch break, Mr. Jeya Kumar Vaithilingam, Partner at Kanesalingam & Co (Advocates & Solicitors) presented his papers on ‘Unfair Dismissal Claims. What would happen effectively once the proposed removal of the Ministry’s discretion to refer complaints to the Industrial Court takes place?’.

After that, Ms. Esther Ong, Managing Partner of Messrs Esther Ong Tengku Saiful & Sree (Advocate & Solictor) presented her papers on ‘Maternity Protection Provision and Introduction of Paternity in the EA – Will it burn more holes in the pocket for the Private Sectors or will it enhance productivity and boost morale in the workplace?’.

The conference then ended with the Panel Discussion entitled ‘The DEEP IMPACT to an organization when the threshold in the Employment Act 1955 is to be raised from the current monthly salary of RM2,000. Yay or Nay?’. The panelists were Ms. Usha Devi, Group Head (HR & Transformation) of Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare, Mr. Sidki Hasan, Special Project Director of Q3 Management Services Sdn Bhd, Mr. Badrol Izam, the General Manager of HR Operations at Sapura Energy Berhad and moderated by Mr. Asohan Satkunasingham, International Best Selling, Author, Award Winning HR Practitioner, International Speaker, Educator, HR Coach and Consultant as the Moderator. Needless to say, the panel discussion was explosive among the panelists and the delegates in exchanging their thoughts on this topic alone.

At the end of Version 2.0, Puan Emilia commented that the approach in presenting these key topics in both Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 were crucial as Gender Inclusiveness and Diversity are considered new approach for many HR while the proposed amendments though they are at public consultation stage, it is unclear when the proposed amendments will be passed as law once they are tabled.

Q3 Management Solutions Sdn Bhd together with MyFreelys Academy would like to thank all partners and media that made this conference possible:

• Partners:
  1. MIHRM (Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management)
  2. IRLaw2U.my
  3. JobCircle.my
• Media Partner:
  1. HRnews.my