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LABOUR MOVEMENT
MTUC Election : Well done, Raja His commitment, honesty and dedication to the trade union movement has been recognised
by K George
The new president, Syed Shahir Syed Mohammad, is a man of determination. Even after four defeats, he refused to give up the fight. He is not someone who is easily discouraged. Having known him for the past few years, I firmly believe he has a definite agenda to take the labour centre of Malaysia to greater heights. The question of personal prestige that goes with the president�s position is something he has never craved for. He has boldly declared that his approach to solving trade union disputes and grievances will be through dialogue. He will not be belligerent or confrontational. Syed�s opponent, Zainal Rampak, was a well-known giant. He had held the MTUC presidency for 20 long years. It was unfortunate that he had to cling on to the post the last two years by dishonouring an agreement he had entered into with his deputy, Mohd Shafie BP Mahmud, pledging to step down after a year to allow his deputy to succeed him. That was a black mark for him. Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. If you prefer to read our web-based edition, please support our work and make a donation. Besides being MTUC president, Zainal also holds several national and international positions. It was a mammoth task for Syed - a �small man� by all accounts when compared with the incumbent - to dislodge Zainal with a majority of 47, with 542 delegates voting. As for Rajasekaran, the incumbent secretary-general, he secured the highest majority of 95 votes, which emphatically revealed the delegates� confidence in him. Zainal's ignominious exit After having been at the MTUC�s helm for 20 years, Zainal�s forced departure was ignominious. In his later years, many associated him with the old saying: power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Over the years I had maintained a close comradeship with Zainal; I trusted him implicitly and admired his rise to the MTUC�s top post. V. David, a blue-blood trade unionist-cum-politician, was Zainal�s mentor for many years. Both were Transport Workers Union (TWU) leaders and had been involved in various opposition political parties, including Semangat 46. Zainal was criticised for his association with Semangat 46 by none other than his close ally in this year�s MTUC election, Siva Subramaniam, who opined that trade unionism and politics didn�t mix. David, unfortunately, suffered a stroke and was gradually bed-ridden. Subsequently Zainal joined Dr Mahathir Mohamad�s UMNO Baru. This came as a shock to his friends like Rajasekaran and several others like me. It was a known fact that Mahathir, the fourth Prime Minister, was not a friend of the MTUC, unlike his three predecessors, who had kept a working relationship with the workers� national centre. Mahathir was a persistent critic of the MTUC, especially Zainal and David. People with longer memories will recall that David was one of the 106 unjust victims of �Operation Lalang�, the crackdown of dissidents under the harsh Internal Security Act in 1987. He spent 222 days in detention, a wasted period in the life of any human being. It was the fourth time that David had been the government�s �guest�. That was not all. David and Zainal were jointly charged for allegedly committing misappropriation of RM20,000 belonging to the TWU. Zainal was allowed bail of RM180,000 but had to spend one day in jail before he could raise such a huge sum. No bail was allowed for David for he was already under ISA detention. After a few months, the DPP inexplicably withdrew the charges. And then Zainal joined UMNO Baru and also accepted the senatorship in November 1998 - two months after his friend, Anwar Ibrahim, was arrested and jailed on dubious charges following his dismissal as deputy prime minister. In the eyes of many disappointed unionists, this was political patronage conferred by Mahathir. Since then, many of his friends and supporters distanced themselves from him. Consequently, MTUC�S prestige and credibility declined - and two opposing camps sprouted in the MTUC. Tit for tat The MTUC deputy president, Mohd Shafie BP Mahmud, played his game cunningly and systematically in this MTUC electiion. He apparently joined Zainal�s camp; assured Zainal of his support; attended Zainal�s party; and publicly declined to contest against his chief, declaring that he did not wish to introduce any tension into the MTUC. At the end of the day, Shafie was the only candidate to be returned unopposed. It was unsurprising that Zainal was finally defeated by a simple and humble man, a person of honesty and commitment. That was the price the long-serving president of 20 years had to pay for dishonouring his agreement with his deputy two years ago. Zainal is history now. It is stupid of Zainal to claim that the media �killed� him. This merely shows that he has been out of touch with the ground-level sentiments that were building up against him, waiting to do him in. What has happened to Zainal was tit-for-tat. As for Shafie, it was sweet revenge against a dishonourable man. It appears that two can play the same game! Stick to NUTP, Siva N. Siva Subramaniam is presently the executive secretary of National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), the largest union of the teaching profession in Malaysia with numerous problems and aspirations. Siva is also advisor to the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS), the umbrella body of the union of public sector employees. This federation of trade unions has 120 affiliates with some 200,000 members. These two posts are more than enough to keep his hands full, especially the post of executive secretary of the largest civil service union. Besides, he is also a member of the Employees Provident Fund Board. The contributors are now frustrated and angry with the EPF for not looking after their interests adequately. He is also a Human Rights Commissioner, a very responsible position that demands ability and commitment to tackle violations of human rights. Over and above, Siva is also, I understand, the deputy chairman of NUTP Koperasi Berhad. Are all these positions not enough for a retired unionist? How much time can he spare for the MTUC as its secretary-general? It is an organisation with about 250 affiliated unions. Their total membership is around 500,000. In 1997, Siva was elected as the Financial Secretary of the MTUC. Within a few months, he resigned without any explanation. How many of you are aware that the public sector unions have lost their right to collective bargaining and their right to strike? The government employees are deprived of their right to natural justice. Sivasubramaniam was CUEPACS president for a number of years and NUTP general-secretary for 14 years. Ask him what steps he has taken to restore these important and inalienable rights of the workers? If you visit CUEPACS website, you might find the picture of Mahathir and now that of Abdullah Badawi as well! That perhaps is the legacy that he had left behind in CUEPACS. As an old-timer trade unionist, I am averse to senatorships and datoships etc. There are many others like me who share this sentiment. Trade unionists who left an indelible mark on the trade union movement with their selfless service and exemplary dedication - such as P.P. Narayanan, Jesudoss, Narendran, V David, and many others - never aspired or craved for such titles. In Malaysia, senators are not elected. It is offered as a patronage and even conferred onto some people who do not deserve this honour. It would be desirable if Siva decides to concentrate only on his job as NUTP executive secretary. If he did that, he would then do justice to the salary he receives. The MTUC financial secretary, A. Sivanathan, is a capable officer to handle the finances of the organisation. As for the deputy secretary-general, Abdul Halim Mansor, he has played his cards very well. He deserves to be rewarded in the course of time. One of the newly elected vice presidents, A. Balasubramaniam, occasionally gives me lifts to the MTUC. Let me congratulate him and another vice-president, Indera Putra Jamal, who is one of my old friends. To all the others who were successfully returned, let me say: I do appreciate your decision to ally with Raja. I am sure you did so in the interest of the MTUC and the larger cause of the workers. Perpetual struggle It was indeed magnanimous of Raja to have expressed his sympathy for Zainal. �It would have been better if Zainal had been able to leave with dignity�, he added. At one time, they both were very close to each other and worked well as a team. Oligarchies and teams are common in organisations. But this is the first time in the MTUC�s history when an entire team from one faction captured the MTUC leadership. It was possible because of the cooperation, mutual trust and determination of all those who worked together. The new president is committed to dialogue, which is the right way to thrash out differences and restore unity. The MTUC is a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual organisation. Its unique characteristic is that it belongs exclusively to the working people. The trade unions� struggle is aimed at restoring the dignity of the working class and achieving social justice. This struggle is perpetual - for there are powerful forces working against us always. We are faced with numerous problems. We do not have to resort to revolution to solve them. Malaysia has chosen parliamentary democracy as the system of governance. In such a system, workers can be very powerful, because, they hold the vast majority of the votes. But, what happens when the election is held? Unfortunately, they are either influenced by religion and/or race. There are others who take bribes and betray the workers. That is why the MTUC has made repeated decisions to conduct political education for the workers. For some time, the political bureau had been quite active under the Zainal�s chairmanship. After he became Senator, however, the bureau has gone into slumber! Now e-mail us and tell us what you think. Your comments might be published in the Letters section of our print magazine, Aliran Monthly. | |||||||||||||||
It is my hope and prayer that the new leaders will run the national labour centre�s affairs as a united team and restore the organisation�s lost prestige and credibility.
