AUMADA ENERGY & TECHNOLOGIES (M) SDN BHD v KENNY BENARD SAW

Case Significance

Reaffirms the strict approach to extending time to appeal an Industrial Court award under section 33C(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967: a solicitor's mistake or ignorance of procedure is not, without more, an acceptable ground.

This High Court decision at Kuala Lumpur addresses a former employer's late attempt to challenge an Industrial Court award and the strict approach the courts take to extending appeal deadlines. The plaintiff, AUMADA Energy & Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, applied by originating summons for an abridgement or extension of time to file a notice of appeal under section 33C(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 against Industrial Court Award No. 495 of 2024. The award had arisen from a claim of constructive dismissal brought by the company's former employee, the respondent, who had left the company's employment in July 2021. The company's solicitors received the award on 30 April 2024, but the statutory period to appeal lapsed before an appeal was filed.

The court examined the reasons offered for the delay against the settled authorities on extensions of time. It relied on Tractors Malaysia Bhd v Southern Estates Sdn Bhd, where the Federal Court held that a mistake by the appellant's solicitors on a point of law is not an acceptable ground for an extension of time, and on Ahmad bin Yahaya v Ahmad bin Sulaiman, that ignorance of procedural law is no excuse. It also cited Gurdev Kaur Bhag Singh v BSN Commercial Bank (M) Bhd for the proposition that it is settled law a solicitor's mistake will not justify an extension, since the aggrieved party can seek a remedy elsewhere against the former solicitor. Weighing the cause papers on a balance of probabilities, the court held that the company had failed to discharge its burden to establish grounds for the indulgence sought.

The court dismissed the application and ordered costs of RM2,000 to be paid within thirty days. The judgment reinforces that the time limits for appealing an Industrial Court award are enforced firmly, and that professional oversight or unfamiliarity with procedure will not, without more, unlock an extension of time.