Malaysia’s lower house of Parliament approved the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2021, aimed at enhancing protection for workers against discrimination and further safeguarding their well-being, reports The New Straits Times. In tabling the bill for its second reading, Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim said the Employment Act will come in force in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. Amendments to the Act include allowing staff to apply for flexible working arrangements from their employers depending on the suitability of the working hours, working days or workplace, as well as extending employees' maternity leave from 60 to 98 days. It also prohibits termination of female employees who are pregnant or suffering from illness arising out of her pregnancy, except on grounds relating to misconduct, wilful breach of the employment contract or closure of business. A seven-day paid paternity leave for married male employees for each confinement, up to a total of five confinements, irrespective of the number of spouses, was also approved. The government also repealed Part VIII of the act which contains specific provisions on women working at night and working underground. Part VIII was also proposed to be repealed to provide equal treatment and protection to women and men workers in accordance with the relevant ILO Conventions, Discrimination Convention 1998.