E Contrario

My congratulations to Syed Shahir and Rajasekaran who were elected in last Tuesday’s MTUC election.

Both leaders were elected with narrow margins. While this may be seen as a sign of division within the labour movement, for me it means the rank-and-file value the contributions of both individuals and want the two to stay in the leadership.

Trade unions will be facing a lot of challenges in the coming three years before the next MTUC election. Syed Shahir has shown his capacity to lead the movement with a new vision. He has also demonstrated his strength and determination in defending workers’ rights in a time of economic hardship.

The unity of the labour movement will be important. We are in solidarity with the workers and their leadership to struggle on.

Also, I sincerely congratulate all the elected office-bearers: Mohd Khalid Atan (deputy president); A. Balasubramaniam, Naim Shukri Mohamed, Mustapha Maarof, Nordin Ahmad, Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid (all private sector vice presidents), Zainal Ismail, Indraputra Ismail and Mohd Noor Abdullah (statutory body vice presidents); Abdul Halim Mansor (deputy secretary general); Samuel Devadason (financial secretary); and Jimmy Tong Yee Shen (deputy financial secretary).