SERATA’s Father’s Day event launching by Sabah Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Ministry
Kota Kinabalu: Society for Equality, Respect And Trust for All Sabah (SERATA) organized a father’s day celebration on 10th-11th of June 2023 at The Walk, Riverson, Kota Kinabalu, titled “Bapaku, Idolaku” in collaboration with Urban Tamu as the official venue sponsor.
Dr Jeremiah Daniel V. Yee Wei, Special Officer at the Ministry of Community Development and Well-Being of People Sabah officiated the event on 10th of June 2023 on behalf of YB Datuk James Ratib. In his text, he reminded all that without fathers, there would be no mothers around, and that there are many single fathers that have doubled up as mothers in bringing up their children.
He ended his speech by praising and thanking the fatherly figures for their countless and often forgotten sacrifices.
Sabrina Aripen, the President of SERATA urged employers to provide the necessary benefits and support their employees need to be able to not just be good employees, but also good parents. For parents that care about their children and the safety of their family are the foundation of a thriving society.
“The cases of Exly Jailon further illustrate the need for fathers to be involved, not only in the care of the child, but for the mother who has just delivered their child. Today, more and more couples leave their kampongs in search of work in the city. They don’t have other family members to rely on, and thus only have one another to help.”
SERATA calls upon the Ministry of Human Resources to accelerate the tabling of amendments to the Sabah Labour Ordinance 1950 (SLO) to streamline the employment benefits and protections in line with the Employment Act 1955 (EA), including 7 days of paternity leave.
As to date, there are still no amendments to the SLO that has been tabled in the Parliament to include 7 days of paternity leave, as per provided in the Employment Act 1955. The SLO has not been updated since 2005.
SERATA has started an online petition on change.org to demand the laws be changed, which has garnered 8,662 signatures to date. SERATA invites the public to add their signature to the petition at www.change.org/updateSLOnow.
SERATA is currently working on improving the understanding of relevant laws and policies pertaining to employment and paid parental leaves in Sabah and are committed to encouraging the implementation of best practices from recommended international standards to reduce the inequalities within the state.
SERATA had previously conducted a stakeholder roundtable discussion and a 3-day workshop, titled “Opis Idamanku” early this year.
About Society for Equality, Respect And Trust for All (SERATA)
SERATA is a non-governmental organization located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah that works on achieving gender equality through partnership. Our mission is to dismantle long-held socially constructed gender roles and promote gender equality by engaging men and boys in partnership with women and girls. We envision equal representation and fair division of tasks of both genders at work and in the home to reflect true partnership and respect
