Man Sues Government And Gets His Job Back After He Was Fired For 'Mocking' Najib
"How could one comment tarnish the reputation of the government," Nazrul Imran Mohd Nor's lawyer contended.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 27 Nov 2020, 05:21 PM
Recently, the Court of Appeal ordered the government to give a man his job back after he was fired three years ago for making a disparaging remark online about former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak
Nazrul Imran Mohd Nor was an Administration and Diplomatic (PTD) officer serving as the second secretary at the Malaysian embassy in Manila, reported The Edge Markets.
He worked as a PTD officer for eight years until one day in February 2017, when he was told to return to Malaysia after he was found to have made an adverse comment about Najib.
Upon his return, he was dismissed from the job. The reason given was that he left this comment on Najib's Facebook post:
Kesian. Hilang kwn, hilang deposit.
"Pity. You lost a friend, and deposit," Nazrul commented in the post published on 11 January 2017.
The post is about Najib sending his condolences to the family members of then Sarawak chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem following the latter's sudden passing.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) sacked Nazrul on 2 February 2017 over purported violations of Regulations 19(1)(b) and 4(2)(d) and (g) of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993.
Unsatisfied with his dismissal, the man took legal action against the PSC and government at the High Court
Nazrul contended that the use of the regulations by the PSC curtailed his freedom of expression as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
The case was dismissed by Justice Datuk Azizah Mohd Nawawi, but he later brought the case forward to the Court of Appeal.
More than three years after he was fired, the appellate court had on 20 November this year ordered the PSC to reinstate Nazrul back to his former position.
Nazrul's lawyer said his client will also be getting his full wages back.
The case was presided by Justice Datuk Zabidin Md Diah, Justice Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, and Justice Darryl Goon.
Senior federal counsel Nazri Ismail appeared for the PSC and government, while Nazrul was represented by Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Wong Ming Yen.
