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2026 MarsdenLR 750

INDUSTRIAL COURT PERAK
ZULHELMY HASAN, CHAIRMAN
SURYA NARAYANA K S NARAYANAN – Appellant
Versus
KELAB IPOH DIRAJA – Respondent
Award No: 578 of 2026 [Case No: 10/4-659/23]

Petitioner Advocates:V Sreedaran Nair ,Respondent Advocate: Gunasegaran Suppiah,Nanda Suppiah

An employee who posts derogatory or obscene remarks about their employer or management on social media breaches their duty of fidelity, constituting a valid ground for dismissal, as such actions damage the employer's reputation and trust, regardless of whether the post was made outside working hours.

Headnote:(A) Industrial Relations Act 1967 - Section 20(3) - Unfair dismissal - Employee misconduct - Social media usage - Employer's burden of proof - The Industrial Court is tasked to determine whether dismissal was with just cause or excuse (Para 24). The employer bears the burden to prove misconduct on a balance of probabilities (Paras 26, 27). Where an employee's social media posting disparages the employer or its management, it constitutes a breach of the implied and express terms of the employment contract, justifying disciplinary action including dismissal, even if posted outside working hours (Paras 29, 30, 54).

(B) Domestic Inquiry - Findings of domestic inquiry are not binding upon the Industrial Court, which hears the matter afresh (Paras 46, 47). However, evidence of a properly conducted inquiry may be considered to evaluate the fairness of the dismissal (Para 47).

Facts of the case:
The claimant, who served as a senior manager on a fixed-term contract, was dismissed following allegations of misconduct involving the use of personal social media accounts. The employee had posted disparaging and obscene comments regarding members of the management committee and tagged the employer's official social media page. Following an internal show-cause process and a domestic inquiry where the employee admitted to the postings, the employer terminated the employment contract for breach of the staff code of conduct and bringing the organization into disrepute.

Findings of Court:
The court found that the employee’s actions of posting offensive content and disparaging colleagues on public social media platforms severely undermined the employment relationship. The court held that the employer had successfully established the charges on a balance of probabilities and that the dismissal was conducted with just cause or excuse.

Issues: The main issues were whether the misconduct complained of had been established on a balance of probabilities and whether such proven misconduct constituted just cause or excuse for the summary dismissal.

Ratio Decidendi: An employee in a managerial position is expected to uphold the reputation of their employer. Posting derogatory, obscene, or disparaging content about management on social media, especially when linked to the employer’s official accounts, creates a conflict of interest, breaches the code of conduct, and renders the employment relationship irreparable, thereby justifying termination.

Result: Claimant's case dismissed.

Table of Content
1. establishing the factual matrix of the dismissal. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8)
2. claimant's contentions regarding procedural unfairness. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15)
3. company's defense regarding serious misconduct. (Para 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21)
4. standard of proof in industrial dismissal cases. (Para 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28)
5. analysis of social media misconduct warranting dismissal. (Para 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58)

AWARD

Zulhelmy Hasan:

Reference

This is a Reference made by the Director General Industrial Relations Malaysia dated 4 April 2023 pursuant to s 20(3) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 to the Industrial Court of Malaysia which was received on 7 April 2023 regarding alleged unfair dismissal by Surya Narayana A/L K S Narayanan (hereinafter to be referred as "the claimant") against Kelab Ipoh DiRaja (hereinafter to be referred as "the company") on 16 August 2022 for an Award to be adjudicated and handed down.

Salient Fact & Backgrounds

[1] The Claimant at the date of filing this reference is 62 years of age and at the date of issuance of the claimant's suspension letter, he was 61 years of age. The Claimant was employed as the General Manager of the club (RIC) after his statutory retirement age on 30 December 2021 for two (2) year period of contractual basis effective 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023 (p 8 COB).

[2] The commencement of the claimant's employment with the company (the club) when he signed the Letter of Offer on 1 March 2021 together with the Schedule of Standard Terms of Services, which lists out his duties, benefits, age of retirement, and secrecy clause among other stated therein. The claimant's confirmation of his employment was when he signed the Letter of Acceptance on 13 December 2021 whereby the claimant's fixed term employment commences on the date when the claimant signed the Fixed Term Contract of Service entitling him for a basic salary of RM5,000.00 monthly with meal allowance of RM250.00.

[3] The company's (the club) internal investigation into the misconduct by the claimant that warranted the club taking necessary action in issuing to the claimant the 1st show cause for misconduct dated 6 July 2022 and the same was accepted by the claimant without any objections. The chronology of the claimant's misconduct is as follows as per the charges levelled against him in the show cause letter dated 6 July 2022, whereof there were three (3) misconduct and charges against the claimant (pp 16-21 COB) as below:

Charge 1:
"That you had on 2 July 2022 as General Manager of Kelab Ipoh Di Raja (Royal Ipoh Club) uploaded on your Facebook account registered under "Suresh Narayanan" and tagged the following contents to the Royal Ipoh Club Facebook the following comments;
"OMG...life is hard as it is...dealing with MORONS and idiots is even more painful. I've decided..bring in ON!!!"
Charge 2:
"That you had on 2 July 2022 as the General Manager of Kelab Ipoh Di Raja (Royal Ipoh Club) uploaded on your Facebook account registered under "Suresh Narayanan" and tagged the contents to Royal Ipoh Club Facebook your internal conversation with Committee Members namely Hari Krishnan (JP Hari) and other comments on Ali Akbar bin Sher Mohamad, a Royal Ipoh Club member."
Charge 3:
"That you had on 2 July 2022 as the General Manager of Kelab Ipoh Di Raja (Royal Ipoh Club) uploaded on your Facebook account registered under "Suresh Narayanan" and tagged the following contents to Royal Ipoh Club Facebook the following modified picture and insinuating comments;
"Haha.just HAD to share this.you know who you are lol."
A picture of Mona Lisa with a modified offensive middle finger gesture with message "This is for every person who took advantage of my kindness"
"As a result of the abovementioned misconduct, you are in breach of the staff code of conduct which has brought disrepute to

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2026 MarsdenLR 750

INDUSTRIAL COURT PERAKZULHELMY HASAN, CHAIRMANSURYA NARAYANA K S NARAYANAN – AppellantVersusKELAB IPOH DIRAJA – RespondentAward No: 578 of 2026 [Case No: 10/4-659/23]

INDUSTRIAL COURT PERAK
ZULHELMY HASAN, CHAIRMAN
SURYA NARAYANA K S NARAYANAN – Appellant
Versus
KELAB IPOH DIRAJA – Respondent
Award No: 578 of 2026 [Case No: 10/4-659/23]