THE Federal Court has awarded damages to a former train driver who had worked his way up to management and was subsequently demoted by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB).

V.  Mohan was awarded 93,000 in damages by the court after he was demoted by KTMB following pressure from the union.

“This is a matter of dignity for me. The management gave in to pressure from the Railway Union of Malaysia. They were not happy with my appointment to a management position,” he said.

Mohan said he has retired.

Lawyers Andrew Teh and Tan Chong Pei appeared for KTMB. 

Mohan was represented by V.Rajadevan and Fathin Delila Hamdan.

Mohan, while working as a train driver, had continued his studies to earn a bachelor of business (Business Administration) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2005.

Subsequently, while still driving trains for KTM, he obtained a master’s degree in business administration from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 2010. 

When KTMB advertised the position of industrial relations manager in 2015, Mohan applied for and was given the job. He was on probation for l six months before he was confirmed.

During this period, Mohan was allowed to use his position in correspondence with no objection from management.

However, on July 2, 2015, the management transferred Mohan to another department and reassigned him to a lower grade and told him the position was commensurate with his qualifications.

That was until the railway union objected to the arrangement and KTMB reassigned him to his locomotive driver’s grade, the move that prompted Mohan’s suit.

Mohan said the demotion was an act of constructive dismissal.

Mohan had won his case at the Industrial Court and the High Court but the Court of Appeal had allowed KTMB to appeal. –  June 22, 2023.