KUALA LUMPUR — The Industrial Court has ordered Perak FC Sdn Bhd to pay RM1.04 million in compensation to former head coach Lim Teong Kim for unfair dismissal, according to Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
Court chairman D Paramalingam said the amount was based on the remaining 16 months of Lim’s two-year contract, which was terminated on May 24, 2023, just eight months into his tenure.
The award stated that Lim, 61, would receive RM1,040,000 based on his agreed monthly salary of RM65,000.
“There can be no reinstatement under the circumstances as the said contract had come to an end by effluxion of time,” Paramalingam said in the 60-page decision released this week, as reported by FMT.
He ruled that Perak FC’s decision to sack Lim mid-season over poor performance was premature, unjustified and driven by commercial concerns, noting the club’s finances had already been affected by its “dwindling fortunes” before Lim’s appointment.
“When the company appointed Lim, they were well aware it was going to be a long and arduous task of restoring glory to Perak football. They sacked him even before he could fully produce the results,” Paramalingam was quoted as saying.
The court also found that allegations of misconduct levelled against Lim were not serious enough to justify termination.
“A final warning was given and Lim was instructed to issue a public apology to the media,” he said, adding that Lim complied, but the company later revisited the same issues to justify dismissal — despite the termination letter only citing unsatisfactory performance.
Paramalingam reportedly said this amounted to “double punishment”, which was “inequitable and unconscionable”.
Tensions worsened when members of the management allegedly orchestrated a players’ mutiny by secretly gathering complaints against Lim at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on April 11, 2023, the award said.
“That is what the company chose to do when they could no longer find any fault with Lim after he heeded their final warning,” Paramalingam added.
Lim, a former national player capped 60 times between 1982 and 1996, has over two decades of coaching experience, including a long stint with Bayern Munich’s youth team from 2000 to 2012.
He also headed Malaysia’s National Football Development Programme and coached the national U-16 squad.
