KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — A former human resources minister acted with “clear bias” when he sided with banks against their employees in a dispute over Hari Raya festive aid, the High Court said in a recent judgment.

Judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman said the minister compromised his office’s neutrality by giving “time and input” to the Malayan Commercial Banks’ Association (MCBA) while the dispute was still under a supposedly impartial conciliation process, the New Straits Times reported.

The dispute began after banks, represented by the MCBA, declined to pay a one-month festive aid to members of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) for Hari Raya in 2024, despite a prior agreement.

The banks instead offered a reduced one-off payment, which the union rejected.

The matter was brought for conciliation, but the minister later referred the case to the Industrial Court, a decision NUBE challenged via a judicial review.

In her grounds of judgment, Aliza found that the minister had descended into the dispute by supporting MCBA’s proposal, thereby violating the trust placed in his office.

“The minister’s support demonstrated a clear bias as he had improperly aligned his office with MCBA, thus compromising the role of the ministry as a neutral arbiter,” the judge stated.

The court found that the minister had “subverted the statutory process designed for impartial resolution” and that his decision to refer the dispute to the Industrial Court was “tainted with unreasonableness.”

It also held that the minister had failed to properly consider the internal dispute resolution mechanism available under the parties’ collective agreement.

The court awarded RM10,000 in costs to NUBE. The judgment, dated Feb 23, did not name the minister involved, who has since taken over another portfolio.

MCBA has since filed a notice of appeal against the decision.

Lawyers Ravi Nekoo and Arvin Kumar Mohan represented NUBE, while Sivabalah Nadarajah and Chua Kim Lin appeared for MCBA.