In April, L Subramaniam went to the Court of Appeal to reinstate an Industrial Court award entered in his favour, which the High Court had overturned, following the termination of his employment.

Today, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) said Subramaniam had discontinued his appeal following a settlement which saw a “fair sum” paid by the embassy to him without any admission of liability.

PSM deputy chairman S Arutchelvan said a settlement deed was entered between the embassy and Subramaniam on Nov 1.

Subramaniam’s lawyers discontinued his appeal after receiving the settlement sum from the embassy on Nov 14.

“(This) marks the full and final resolution of the matter,” said Arutchelvan in a statement.

“Subramaniam’s pursuit of justice began in April 2008. It was a tough case, taking into account who Subramaniam was up against. Nevertheless, the struggle has set new precedents and given hope to many employees in foreign missions.”

Arutchelvan said the case has created an important legal precedent after the Federal Court on June 20, 2022 ruled that embassies only have restricted immunity in unfair dismissal cases.

The apex court said the Industrial Court was the proper forum to ascertain the applicability of the doctrine of sovereign immunity to the facts of the case before it.

Arutchelvan said the Federal Court’s decision means embassies cannot dismiss their workers arbitrarily or summarily.

He added that another key development from Subramaniam’s case was the passing of the Jurisdictional Immunities of Foreign States Bill 2023 by the Dewan Negara on April 1.

The bill seeks to regulate the immunity granted to foreign states, as well as their heads of state, government leaders and assets, from the jurisdiction of Malaysian courts.

“The amended Bill has omitted employment,” he said, adding that embassies are not entitled to claim immunity in employment disputes.

“We would like to thank the Malaysian government for this very important amendment which will ensure a similar situation faced by Subramaniam will not arise again.”

Arutchelvan also thanked former human resources minister M Kulasegaran for referring Subramaniam’s case to the Industrial Court in 2019, and paid tribute to Subramaniam’s legal team led by Ragunath Kesavan and Tai Yong Fung.

“They did an outstanding job throughout the entire case: from the Industrial Court right up to the Federal Court.

“The entire case was done pro bono (and) their dedication and commitment over the years were pivotal in this case,” he said.

In April 2023, the Industrial Court found that Subramaniam had been unlawfully dismissed from his employment, and ordered the US embassy to pay him RM66,000 in compensation and back wages.

A judicial review application was filed by the US government in August 2023 seeking to annul that award, and naming the Industrial Court and Subramaniam as the first and second respondents.

On April 1, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur quashed the Industrial Court’s award, declaring that the Industrial Court did not have jurisdiction over the US government.

Justice Amarjeet Singh ruled that Subramaniam’s termination from employment for misconduct was an internal matter and ordered him to pay the US government RM8,000 in costs.

Subramaniam appealed, and the matter was pending before the Court of Appeal when the settlement was struck.