KUALA LUMPUR – The drama leading up to the upcoming Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) event continues, with member associations coming forward to warn Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to stay away from the event.
MTUC will be holding its triennial delegates’ conference (TDC) this weekend, with Ismail Sabri slated to officiate the event on Saturday.
In a statement today, MTUC general council member A. Sivananthan labelled the TDC as being an “illegal convention” and accused office bearers of having violated several provisions in the congress’ constitution.
Urging the postponement of the conference, he stressed that if Ismail Sabri were to attend the event, it would be akin to him turning a blind eye to the supposed misconduct within the congress.
“The many violations by the MTUC leadership give the impression that the election of the principal office bearer has taken precedence over other matters,” he said.
“It is our opinion that the TDC must be deferred otherwise the prime minister would not only be attending an illegal conference, but he would also be seen as condoning the violations of MTUC’s constitution by its current leadership.”
He claimed that the scheduled attendance and the address of the prime minister at the conference were not tabled at any of the general council meetings.
Some of the breaches he alleged include the TDC being scheduled earlier than the dictates of their constitution, and the secretary-general failing to send the complete TDC agenda to affiliates 14 days before the conference.
His sentiments echo that of MTUC’s immediate past president Datuk Abdul Halim Mansor who told The Vibes yesterday that he is confused over the decision to invite the prime minister since a general council meeting on June 26 had greenlighted proposals for an orderly protest.
He said that the peaceful demonstration would be against proposed amendments to the Trade Unions Act 1959.
“It is normal for us to hold campaigns and demonstrations during the first morning of the TDC. I am not sure if the prime minister has been told about this,” said Halim, who is National Union of Petroleum and Chemical Industry Workers Peninsular Malaysia secretary-general.
He had also lodged a report to the Registrar of Societies, alleging that MTUC had failed to obtain an approval letter from the registrar to bring forward the conference, noting that it should have been called between October and December of the third year of any three-year term.
However, MTUC secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor told The Vibes that Ismail Sabri’s presence at the TDC was noted in the conference’s agenda, which had been conveyed to member associations via email two weeks before the same general council meeting.
Adding that he was not aware of any planned protests, he explained that the date for the conference was decided by the general council, which is the highest decision-making authority of the MTUC based on the congress’ constitution.
“During its meeting on March 20, votes were taken regarding holding the conference on July 2 and 3, with 36 votes for and 12 against,” he said. – The Vibes, July 1, 2022
