Dismissed From a Job in Terengganu
Your Kerteh contract was not renewed, or you lost a fishing or trade job.
Terengganu’s economy centres on oil and gas around Kerteh and Paka, fisheries along the coast, and small trading businesses inland. Each of these can end in a dismissal.
All of them follow the same Section 20 process.
Kerteh’s contract cycle and the coastal economy
Oil and gas contract workers around Kerteh often see their engagement described as a non-renewal, not a dismissal. The work can still carry on under someone else.
A genuine project wind-down should still follow the usual practice.1 The most recently hired staff in a role go first.
Fisheries and small trade workers along the coast more often work without formal contracts. This changes what evidence is realistic to gather.
Kuala Terengganu’s Crystal Mosque area also holds a small tourism and services trade. Workers there can face seasonal pressure, as in other coastal states.
Evidence when the paperwork is thin
If you worked without a written contract, that gap does not remove your rights under the unfair dismissal process.
Payment records, work messages and a colleague willing to confirm your role can support your case instead.
A boat captain, a jetty operator or a market coordinator may also be able to confirm your role if your direct employer disputes it.
Set these out clearly in your evidence before the exact dates fade from memory.
Filing from Terengganu
Terengganu has no Industrial Court branch of its own. A claim goes to the Industrial Court, and JPPM confirms which Industrial Court branch hears it.2
Conciliation runs first through the JPPM office for Terengganu, based in Kuala Terengganu.
Use the deadline calculator once you know your last working day. Begin your Section 20 representation while the details are clear.
If you want a lawyer to act, send a short message about your project or trade, your dates and what your employer said. An independent lawyer may review the facts and replies about whether and how they can act.
If your Kerteh, maritime or trading job ended and you want a lawyer to take it on, send your dates and what happened. An independent employment lawyer may review the facts and replies about whether and how they can act.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
My contract at a Kerteh petrochemical plant was not renewed. My employer says this is not a dismissal. Is that right?
Not always. If your role continued and was given to someone else, the non-renewal may not be genuine. If the project truly wound down, it may be. The facts decide, not the label your employer uses. Keep your contract and any renewal history.
I work in fisheries near the coast and do not have a formal contract. Can I still bring a claim?
Yes, an informal arrangement does not remove your rights under the Industrial Relations Act. Gather whatever you have, such as payment records, messages about your work, or witnesses who can confirm your role and your dismissal.
Where does my Terengganu case go if the state has no Industrial Court branch?
Terengganu has no Industrial Court branch of its own, and JPPM confirms which Industrial Court branch hears a case from the state. Conciliation still happens locally through the JPPM office for Terengganu before that stage.
Sources
- In a retrenchment the conventional selection principle is Last In First Out within the affected category, an employer may depart from it only with justification, and the redundancy itself must be genuine. Richard Wee Chambers
- The Industrial Court sits at its Kuala Lumpur headquarters with branches including Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Mahkamah Perusahaan Malaysia, contact
Keep reading
If your Kerteh, maritime or trading job ended and you want a lawyer to take it on, send your dates and what happened. An independent employment lawyer may review the facts and replies about whether and how they can act.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.