New Straits Times (Malaysia): ‘Ex-Shell employees’ suit within time frame’
“On Sept 20, 2004, the High Court in Miri ruled in favour of the ex-employees and said the retirement benefit under the Retirement Benefit Fund was ultra vires the Act. Sarawak Shell Berhad and Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd filed an appeal.”
Tuesday 18 October 2005
PUTRAJAYA, Mon. – The Court of Appeal today ruled that it has the jurisdiction to decide whether former employees of Sabah and Sarawak Shell had filed their civil action within six years.
A total of 398 ex-employees had sought a court ruling on whether their employers’ decision to deduct their contributions before paying out retirement benefits to them was against the Employees Provident Fund Act.
On Sept 20, 2004, the High Court in Miri ruled in favour of the ex-employees and said the retirement benefit under the Retirement Benefit Fund was ultra vires the Act.
Sarawak Shell Berhad and Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd filed an appeal.
Also appealing are seven individuals who are trustees of Shell Sarawak and Sabah Retirement Benefit Fund and Shell Sarawak and Sabah Provident Fund. The ex-employees, represented by Datuk Cyrus V. Das, today raised a preliminary objection before the Court of Appeal proceeded to hear the appeal proper. They claimed the companies should have raised the limitation issue before the trial judge.
(Any party intending to take action against another has to do so within a stipulated period, in this case, six years.) However, Datuk Cecil Abraham, who is assisting Queens’ Counsel Robert Ham, replied that the companies were not raising a new point of law at the appeal stage. He said the issue was in their pleadings.
Court of Appeal judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohamad, who dismissed the preliminary objection by the ex-employees, said the appellate court could hear the limitation issue along with other grounds of appeal. Sitting with him were Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Datin Paduka Zaleha Zahari. Their decision was unanimous.
The 398 claimed the companies made contributions to the retirement benefit fund as well as the EPF but when it came to repayments, they deducted their contributions to the EPF before paying the workers.
Hearing continues.
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
