MTUC THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND BN, REJECTS NUBE'S STAND
Organisation did not issue statement urging workers to vote for opposition, says president
THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) yesterday maintained its support for the Barisan Nasional government, saying that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has done a lot to uplift workers’ status in the country.
Its president, Datuk Abdul Halim Mansor, said the organisation did not issue a statement urging 14 million workers to vote for the opposition in today’s general election, which was reported in online media.
He said MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon’s statement yesterday was made in his capacity as National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) secretary-general.
“I have seen the statement issued by Solomon and it has been manipulated by online portals, as if trying to damage the good relationship between MTUC and the government.
“In a statement, Solomon did not mention that he was representing MTUC but it was made in his capacity as NUBE’s rep. If it was for NUBE with its 20,000 members, then he is free to make a statement. It does not represent MTUC.”
Solomon was reported to have urged workers to vote for the opposition in the general election to prove to the government that workers were key to the country’s economy and should not be ignored.
Halim added that based on the organisation’s policy, any official statement must be approved by the MTUC general council and receive consent from the 200 unions affiliated with the organisation.
“In this case, the statement made by Solomon is about NUBE.
“So, in my opinion, this is just a tactic used by news portals to ensure better reach of the statement. Probably, they feel it is better to use Solomon’s position as MTUC secretary-general rather than NUBE’s.”