KUALA LUMPUR – Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has expressed dismay over a high court’s decision which ruled that the United States government and its embassy are afforded immunity and protection from the Industrial Court’s jurisdiction.
Earlier today, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh allowed a judicial review application filed by the US government to annul a RM66,000 award given by the Industrial Court to a former security guard at the US Embassy here for wrongful dismissal.
The judge, in his decision delivered via email, also said that the ex-employee, 65-year-old L. Subramaniam, will be made to pay costs of RM8,000.
PSM deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan posited that the “shocking” judgement “literally means” that Malaysians employed at foreign embassies have no legal protection as the foreign institutions “seem to have absolute immunity.”
“This decision also seems to go contrary to (an) earlier ruling (by) the Federal Court on June 26, 2022, which upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision that foreign embassies don’t have absolute immunity.
“The case was then ordered and referred to the Industrial Court,” he said in a statement.
“We have yet to receive the grounds of judgment, but we would definitely appeal this case.
“We urge the Malaysian government, who is the first defendant, to also appeal this decision which will have serious repercussions to the welfare and wellbeing of workers in Malaysia.”
On January 8, 2020, the high court ruled that the US government and its embassy here were protected by immunity and prohibited the Industrial Court from adjudicating Subramaniam’s unlawful dismissal claim case.
However, in 2021, the appellate court overturned the high court’s decision and ordered the Industrial Court to proceed with hearing the dispute.
This prompted the US government to bring the matter up to the Federal Court, but the appeal was rejected.
On April 27 last year, Industrial Court chairperson Amrik Singh ordered the US Embassy to pay RM66,000 to Subramaniam after ruling that it failed to provide evidence of misconduct against Subramaniam.
Amrik reportedly said that the US Embassy’s legal team dedicated a significant amount of their submissions to claiming that the Industrial Court had no jurisdiction to hear the case, instead of providing evidence regarding Subramaniam’s alleged misconduct said to be linked with unauthorised leave of absence.
Subramaniam had been a security guard at the embassy for more than 10 years before he was terminated in 2008.
Subramaniam claimed that he was merely performing auxiliary duties at the embassy and was not involved in US diplomatic functions or governmental decisions.
He also contended that he had no access to confidential information or documents relating to the embassy or the US government. – April 1, 2024