MENTERI SUMBER MANUSIA MALAYSIA v 1. ) National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) 2. ) KETUA PENGARAH PERHUBUNGAN PERUSAHAAN 3. ) MALAYAN COMMERCIAL BANKS' ASSOCIATION 4. ) MAHKAMAH PERUSAHAAN MALAYSIA 5. ) Jabatan Peguam Negara PIHAK TERKILAN 1. ) Tan Eng Hong 2. ) Abdul Jamil Bin Haji Jalaludeen

wa-25-291-07-2024 High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) 12 February 2026 • WA-25-291-07/2024 • 29 min read
13 cases cited (0 SG, 13 foreign)

Catchwords

Whether R1 had acted contrary to sub-s 26(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (‘IRA 1967’) when he failed to address his mind to the internal settlement mechanism agreed between the parties in Article 4(5) of the 19th CA and formed an opinion that the said internal settlement mechanism would not achieve settlement - Whether R1 had undermined the on-going conciliation process at the JPP when he secretly met with R3 to discuss the Festival Aid issue and then supported the inferior payment package made by R3 to members of the Applicant - Whether R1 had sufficiently satisfied himself that the internal settlement mechanism agreed between the parties in Article 4(5) of the 19th CA would not achieve settlement pursuant to sub-s 26(3) of the IRA 1967 - Whether R1 had acted contrary to sub-s 26(2) of the IRA 1967 when he had referred the 20th CA to R4 without the consent of the Applicant

Practice Areas

Whether R1 had acted contrary to sub-s 26(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (‘IRA 1967’) when he failed to address his mind to the internal settlement mechanism agreed between the parties in Article 4(5) of the 19th CA and formed an opinion that the said internal settlement mechanism would not achieve settlement

Judges (1)

Aliza binti Sulaiman Delivered

Counsel (7)

Nekoo Firm Shearn Delamore & Co. Firm Arvin Kumar Mohan Counsel Applicant Chua Kim Lin Counsel Respondent Mohd Isa Bin Mohamad Counsel Respondent Ravi Nekoo Counsel Applicant Sivabalah Nadarajah Counsel Respondent

Parties (8)

Jabatan Peguam Negara Respondent KETUA PENGARAH PERHUBUNGAN PERUSAHAAN Respondent MAHKAMAH PERUSAHAAN MALAYSIA Respondent MENTERI SUMBER MANUSIA MALAYSIA Applicant National Union of Bank Employees Respondent Abdul Jamil bin Haji Jalaludeen Aggrieved Party Malayan Commercial Banks' Association Respondent Tan Eng Hong Aggrieved Party

Case Significance

MENTERI SUMBER MANUSIA MALAYSIA v 1. ) National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE... is a High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) decision dated February 12, 2026 (citation: wa-25-291-07-2024). <p>The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) sought judicial review of the Minister of Human Resources' decisions to refer two trade disputes with the Malayan Commercial Banks' Association (MCBA) to the Industrial Court, contending that the Minister acted contrary to subsection 26(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 by failing to address the internal settlement mechanism in the 19th Collective Agreement. The court found the Minister had undermined the ongoing conciliation process by secret The case was decided by Aliza binti Sulaiman. Counsel appearing: Arvin Kumar Mohan (counsel for applicant), Chua Kim Lin (counsel for respondent), Mohd Isa Bin Mohamad (counsel for respondent), Ravi Nekoo (counsel for applicant), Sivabalah Nadarajah (counsel for respondent).

Summary

The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) sought judicial review of the Minister of Human Resources' decisions to refer two trade disputes with the Malayan Commercial Banks' Association (MCBA) to the Industrial Court, contending that the Minister acted contrary to subsection 26(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 by failing to address the internal settlement mechanism in the 19th Collective Agreement. The court found the Minister had undermined the ongoing conciliation process by secretly meeting with MCBA and supporting an inferior payment package, and had referred the 20th Collective Agreement to the Industrial Court without NUBE's consent. The judicial review was allowed with costs of RM10,000 payable by MCBA.

What was the outcome of MENTERI SUMBER MANUSIA MALAYSIA v 1. ) National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE...?

<p>The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) sought judicial review of the Minister of Human Resources' decisions to refer two trade disputes with t...

Statutes Cited

Industrial Relations Act 1967 (Cap 177)
s 26(3)
Rules of Court 2012

Cases Cited (13)

UK (4)
[1891] AC 173 [1948] 1 KB 223 [1968] AC 997 [1985] 1 AC 374
MY (9)
[1980] 2 MLJ 189 [1997] 1 CLJ 665 [1999] 2 CLJ 471 [2008] 9 CLJ 110 [2014] 4 MLJ 765 [2019] 4 CLJ 561 [2021] 5 MLJ 857 [2025] 8 CLJ 951 [2026] 1 MLJ 699