KUALA LUMPUR – Former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) manager Y. Kohila has won her lawsuit against the central bank over her unlawful termination.
High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Bache ruled that Kohila, who is also an activist with Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), was put in a disadvantaged position as she was denied the right to acquire several pertinent documents for her domestic inquiry with BNM.
He also said that she was denied sufficient time to bring forward her case over her termination with BNM’s panel back in 2017.
“From the minutes of the domestic inquiry, the court observes that she (Kohila) was struggling with the lack of documents, and she had only five to ten minutes to prepare for her cross examination,” he said when delivering his oral judgement.
Ahmad also ruled natural justice was breached and that Kohila was unfairly treated when she was not granted the opportunity to testify about her case.
The same sentiment applied when her requests for external lawyers and witnesses to testify in the proceedings, as well as provide witness statements, were turned down.
He also pointed out that Kohila was not allowed to defend her charges when BNM’s disciplinary committee decided to sack her, adding that “had she been given the chance to mitigate, it might have had a different result.”
Ahmad then set April 29 for the damages assessment, to determine an amount for the special, general, exemplary and aggravated damages to be awarded to Kohila.
Kohila – who was previously BNM’s museum, art gallery, and knowledge management centre manager – had her role terminated in July 2017, over her activism with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
This came after Kohila was found guilty of three counts of misconduct by the BNM panel, following a domestic inquiry in May and June 2017.
The three counts included her purported support of PSM and its officers during the 2013 general election – by drafting and publishing two press statements on the JERIT website on April 12, 2013 – and alleged support for then-PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan for the Semenyih state seat on April 17, 2013.
The third and final strike was when Kohila allegedly did not conduct herself in a manner befitting her status as a BNM employee by participating in a rally on Labour Day in 2016, wearing a shirt with “Batal GST” written on it. – March 29, 2024