The Court of Appeal, in its decision on 13th March 2012, held that the defamation suit brought by Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) against the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) and its General Secretary, J. Solomon, should proceed for full trial to determine whether or not the immunity provisions under s. 22(2) of the Trade Unions Act 1959 could apply to the Defendants as this involved a “mixed question of law and fact”.
Maybank’s suit claimed statements, which were published by the Defendants and which appeared on the Union’s website in February and March, 2011, were defamatory of the Bank in that they imputed improper conduct in relation to utilizing funds in favour of senior management at the expense of employees. The Defendants claimed, as one of their defences, that they enjoyed immunity from legal proceedings under Section 22(2) of the Trade Unions Act, 1959.
The Court of Appeal held that the earlier High Court decision of 24th November 2011 where Maybank’s defamation suit was struck out on the grounds of such immunity be set aside.