GEORGE TOWN: An ex-general manager of Penang Hill Corporation who had his three-year employment contract unlawfully terminated before its expiration was given RM417,000 in damages.
The Penang Hill Enactment of 2009, according to High Court judge Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah, was violated by clause 8.4 of Khoo Teng Cheok’s employment agreement.
The court agreed with his attorney V. Satchitanandan’s argument that only the state government, not the business, had the authority to cancel the contract.
The decision of the judge was sent to the parties via email this afternoon and stated that the plaintiff was entitled to his salary and benefits for the remaining period of the contract.
The question, according to Tun Abd Majid, was whether or not clause 8.4 violated the enactment.
“I hold that it is ultra vires the enactment. Therefore, the termination is unlawful,” he added.
RM3,000 was also given to the complainant by him.
The ex-general manager, Khoo who is now 69 started his three-year contract on February 20, 2014, but was thrown out on January 2016, which was less than 2 years.
In 2020, he submitted a summons of origin asking for a ruling that the dismissal was unlawful and that he was entitled to pay and benefits for the remaining time.
With the main goal of overseeing Penang Hill’s growth and funicular (cable railway) infrastructure, the corporation was established in 2009.
