We are pleased to announce that Subramaniam A/L Letchimanan, a former security guard who brought a claim for unfair dismissal against his then-employer, the United States Embassy, before the Industrial Court, has discontinued his appeal at the Court of Appeal following an out-of-court settlement reached by both parties. As part of this settlement, a fair sum was paid to Subramaniam on a “without admission of liability” basis, marking the full and final resolution of the matter.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) extends its deepest gratitude to the legal team, supporters, and all those who stood by Subramaniam throughout this challenging and prolonged struggle. We would also like to thank YB M. Kulasegaran – the then Human Resource Minister who referred the matter to the Industrial Court in 2019. The legal team, led by Counsel Ragunath Kesavan and Tai Yong Fung, did an outstanding job throughout the entire case from the Industrial court right up to the Federal Court. Their dedication and commitment over the years were pivotal in this case.
The entire case was done probono, from the Industrial Court to the High Court and right up to the Federal Court before the Industrial Court handed down the award in favour of Subramaniam. Unfortunately, in the subsequent Judicial Review Application, the High Court defied all logic and seemed to have gone against the earlier Federal Court decision deciding that there is no blanket immunity for foreign missions.
Subramaniam’s 16-year-long pursuit of justice began following his unlawful dismissal on 4th April 2008. Together with PSM, he started the long route for justice, taking on the United States of America. It was a tough case taking into account who Subramanian was up against. Nevertheless, the struggle in a way set new precedent and gave hope to many employees in foreign missions.
This case created some very important precedent in the country’s legal history as the Federal Court on 20 Jun 2022 held that there is no absolute immunity and that the Industrial Court is, in fact, the appropriate and proper forum to ascertain the question of restrictive doctrine of sovereign immunity. This decision means that the embassies who had previously dismissed their workers arbitrarily or summarily whilst hiding behind the doctrine of sovereign immunity, will now be unable to do so.
Another important development from this is the Dewan Negara passing of the Jurisdictional Immunities of Foreign States Bill 2023 on 1st April 2024. The bill seeks to regulate the immunity granted to foreign states, as well as their assets, heads of state and government leaders, from the jurisdiction of Malaysian courts. The amended Bill has omitted employment, and Embassies now cannot use immunity on employment matters.
We would like to thank the Malaysian Government on this very important amendment which will ensure a similar situation faced by Subramaniam will not arise again
We conclude this long saga. The struggle was long but it was worth it. As the saying goes, “Dare to struggle, dare to win.”
S.Arutchelvan
Deputy Chairperson
Parti Sosialis Malaysia