THE Kuala Lumpur Industrial Court has dismissed the wrongful dismissal claim of an ex-sales consultant against Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd (Country Garden), the master developer of Forest City, Southeast Asia’s largest mixed-use green development at Iskandar Johor.
Ng Suh Horng had recorded zero sales from the Feb 1 to Dec 11, 2018. In view of the zero sales, a deduction was made to the Ng’s salary by Country Garden.
The employer had further issued nine warning letters to Ng for failing to achieve any sales target. Ng was also given 10 training sessions. The Court took note that Ng did not dispute about the deduction of salary but continued to work for Country Garden.
At a meeting held in the early days of November 2018, Ng requested for an internal transfer within Country Garden. She was not interested in the vacant position in the operational department. Ng did attend an interview for another position but was not successful in the interview.
Eventually, she agreed to leave Country Garden if another job is not available in Country Garden.
Although Ng signed the resignation form voluntarily on Dec 11, 2018, Court chairlady Selva Rani Thiyagarajan observed that Ng claimed forced resignation.
Hence, the Court opined that Ng was not able to prove that she was being forced to resign. Moreover, she resigned voluntarily in a pre-meditated manner due to her poor performance.
Leonard Yeoh and Pua Jun Wen represented Country Garden while V. Sreedaran Nair, Amir Syafiq and Venkadesh Narayanan appeared for Ng.
It is learnt from media reports that Country Garden cut close to 400 jobs in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent governmental decisions – notably the movement control order (MCO) – which contributed to the low property sales in Forest City.
Forest City’s perceived isolated location has put off potential tenants, leading to the mega development project being dubbed “Ghost City” according to some media reports.
However, a revival is underway with Forest City having announced on Jan 29 this year that facilities upgrade is underway as part of preparations to implement the Special Financial Zone (SFZ) announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in August 2023.
Several transport infrastructure projects are currently earmarked for Forest City. Previous reports indicate that there are plans to connect Forest City SFZ (special financial zone) with the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) and light rapid transit (LRT) West Line planned for Johor Bahru.
The improvement of facilities in Forest City is expected to attract more investors. Forest City continues to possess unique advantages in exerting substantial impact on economic activities in that region. – March 13, 2024
