RM2.5 mil for unjust dismissal 27 May 2019.

1. 6/3/2019 RM2.5mil for unjust dismissal - Nation | The Star Online
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/27/rm25mil-for-unjust-dismissal/ 1/2
RM2.5mil for unjust dismissal
Monday, 27 May 2019
NATION
By Chelsea Ly Ng
KUALA LUMPUR: A former chief operating of cer and executive director of Konsortium Transna-
sional Bhd has been awarded nearly RM2.5mil for unjust dismissal.
The amount is believed to be one of the highest in recent times for backwages and compensation in
lieu of reinstatement.
Apart from this sum, the company is to pay another RM442,000 for Employees Provident Fund
contribution.
Industrial Court chairman Fredrick Indran XA Nicholas ordered that the amount be paid to Tengku
Mohd Hasmadi Tengku Hashim within the next six weeks.
Lawyer S. Muhendaran, who appeared for Tengku Mohd Hasmadi, said the RM2.46mil was derived
from 36 months of his client’s last drawn salary.
According to the court award, Tengku Mohd Hasmadi claimed constructive dismissal from April 1,
2015, when, upon returning from a stint of annual leave he discovered that part of his job and duties
were taken over by Muhammad Hariz Mohd Nadzmi, the son of Tan Sri Mohd Nadzmi Salleh, the
company’s chairman.
Tengku Mohd Hasmadi felt not only humiliated but that the move also undermined his position and
authority as the COO and executive director.
Prior to the said measures, Tengku Mohd Hasmadi was solely responsible for the group operations
and the group support services.
He oversaw 10 subsidiaries within the group which comprised about 3,000 employees.
He contended that the purported “restructuring”, which was to take effect from April 1, 2015, was in
fact the rearrangement of only his roles and responsibilities, and no one else, and done without any
notice, consultation or approval by him.

2. 6/3/2019 RM2.5mil for unjust dismissal - Nation | The Star Online
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/27/rm25mil-for-unjust-dismissal/ 2/2
Copyright © 1995-2019 Star Media Group Berhad (ROC 10894D)
Best viewed on Chrome browsers.
“This exercise removed a considerable portion of the claimant’s responsibilities, which was handed
over to the company chairman’s son – a 27-year-old at the time who, according to the claimant, had
not even completed his studies,” Fredrick wrote in the award.
The company denied the contention and asserted that the restructuring was real.
The company said it even offered to restore two departments to be under Tengku Mohd Hasmadi to
quell his dissatisfaction.
But it was to no avail. Tengku Mohd Hasmadi refused to report back to work as instructed while
maintaining that the breach had not in fact been remedied.
According to the award, Mohd Nadzmi testi ed in court that this exercise was his “succession plan”
for what he perceived to be his company, notwithstanding that it was in fact a public listed company.
The court held that the restructuring of Tengku Mohd Hasmadi’s duties and responsibilities was
almost by way of an ambush.
“The company abdicated its responsibility to adequately address the issue, or indeed address it at all
effectively, in order to right the situation in a fair and rational manner.
“All that was actually said in this court was that the organisational chart was readjusted for the third
time to seemingly, but not actually put the claimant back into his original position.
“In the whole scheme of things in this case, it certainly comes across as a colourable exercise of
managerial authority and is clearly tainted by unfair labour practice,” said Fredrick, ruling the
dismissal as unfair.
TAGS / KEYWORDS:
Konsortium Transnasional , Chief Operating Of cer , Executive Director , Unjust Dismissal
Related News
NATION 22h ago
NGOs want more
companies to protect the
environment
SMEBIZ 22h ago
Insights on Industry 4.0
adoption for SMEs -
SMEBiz
AIRLINES 7h ago
Korean Air CEO says
discussions with family
members about company
are ongoing