MMC Engineering Group Berhad v Md Ghazali Bin Ali

Appellant(s): Mmc Engineering Group Berhad

Respondent(s): Md Ghazali Bin Ali

• YA Dato' Azmi Bin Ariffin
• YA Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Bin Jaffril
• YA Tuan Ong Chee Kwan

• The respondent, a General Manager on a fixed-term contract, was seconded to a project and drafted a "Commitment Declaration" for fixed-term staff, linking contract renewal to its signing and purporting it to be a directive from the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
• The COO denied knowledge of the document, and staff expressed dissatisfaction, leading to a show cause letter against the respondent for alleged misconduct, including misrepresentation and acting without authority.
• The appellant found the respondent's explanation unacceptable and terminated his services by withdrawing his contract extension, which the Industrial Court upheld as a fair dismissal. The High Court subsequently overturned the Industrial Court's award via judicial review.

• Whether the dismissal of the respondent was wrongful, unlawful, and legally invalid.
• Whether the dismissal was premature.
• Whether the High Court erred in overturning the Industrial Court's decision on grounds of illegality, irrationality, and procedural impropriety.

• The Court of Appeal found no appealable error in the High Court's decision to overturn the Industrial Court's award, thus dismissing the appellant's appeal.
• The Court held that the "Commitment Document" was merely a draft, not finalized, and there was no evidence that the respondent personally pressured employees or caused actual damage to the COO's reputation or the company.
• The respondent's actions, even if ill-advised or mistaken, amounted to an error of judgment rather than misconduct, and the punishment of dismissal was wholly disproportionate, especially given the unproven allegation of destroyed trust and confidence.