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Ex-Utusan NUJ chair allowed to challenge wrongful dismissal

A former chair of the Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd (UMMB) chapter of the National Union of Journalist (NUJ), Amran Ahmad was today allowed to challenge the decision of the Industrial Court concerning his wrongful dismissal for issuing a slanderous statement against the management of the publishing company.

High Court judge Azizah Nawawi allowed the application for judicial review filed by Amran in her chambers in the presence of lawyer Tan Ch’eng Leong who represented Amran.

Tan, when approached by reporters, said no reason was given by the court when allowing the application by his client which was made ex-parte and that the court had fixed March 1 for case management.

Amran, 41, filed the application for judicial review on Jan 12 naming UMMB and the Industrial Court as respondents with regard to his dismissal from the company on Sept 3, 2009.

Amran, who started work with Utusan Melayu as a cadet journalist on July 1, 2001, had complained about his dismissal from work by the company to the Industrial Relations Department and on Sept 20, 2009, the Human Resources Minister had referred the case to the Industrial Court which subsequently made the decision on Oct 20, 2017.

Before being dismissed, Amran was given a show-cause letter and an internal investigation was carried out on the three allegations of misconduct for issuing a statement slandering the management of the company via three articles carried by Malaysiakini and Harakahdaily concerning the issue on “goal posts and renovation work by the Penang branch office”.

In the application for a judicial review, Amran had sought for a court order to rescind completely the decision of the Industrial Court dated Oct 20, 2017, besides applying for a declaration that his dismissal by UMMB was done without fair and just reason.

The applicant also demanded an order on an award for back wages and compensation in lieu of reinstatement for a sum considered appropriate by the court.

Amran filed the application on grounds that the chairperson of the Industrial Court, Siti Salwa Musa, had erred in terms of the law when deciding that he had committed serious misconduct and that his dismissal from the Malay daily was made due to fair and just reasons.

Amran said the Industrial Court in its decision had found that the statement issued by him which was published by Malaysiakini and Harakah Daily in 2009 was false and slandered UMMB and the accusation had been proven against him. - Bernama

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