Dismissed From a Job in Terengganu
A Kerteh petrochemical contract and a small fishing trade job both count from the day you stopped working.
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 role can still clearly continue 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 face similar seasonal pressure to those 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 generally comes under the Industrial Court’s Kuala Lumpur division, the nearest branch available.2
Conciliation runs first through the JPPM office for Terengganu, based in Kuala Terengganu.
A short message about your project or trade, and what your employer said, is a reasonable place to start.
Use the deadline calculator once you know your last working day. Begin your Section 20 representation while the details are clear.
Whether your work was on a Kerteh project, on the water, or in a small trading business, tell us what happened and we can talk through your options.
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 to exist and was simply given to someone else, or if the project genuinely wound down, the facts decide which applies, not just 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.
Why is my Terengganu case heard in Kuala Lumpur instead of somewhere closer?
Terengganu has no Industrial Court branch of its own, so a case generally comes under the Kuala Lumpur division, the nearest available branch. 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. Malaysian Counsel
Keep reading
Whether your work was on a Kerteh project, on the water, or in a small trading business, tell us what happened and we can talk through your options.