The Selangor government will not renege on its decision to rename a road in Petaling Jaya after the late trade unionist V David.

NONE Executive councillor Ronnie Liu, who is in charge of local government, quashed the rumour that the state government has had a change of heart.

"It is pending for now, until we can identify which road is suitable as we want a significant road that will honour V David," he said when contacted.

He explained that the state government had decided to wait as the area in question is to go through "a fair bit of redevelopment".

NONE Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim (right) , when announcing the decision late last week, said Jalan Barat would be renamed in conjunction with Labour Day celebrations last Saturday.

But this did not materialise, amidst a clamour of demands for the name of Jalan Barat to be retained. The rumour was then leaked that the state government had cancelled the plan.

MIC Youth claimed that state exco for tourism, Elizabeth Wong, had posted a Facebook status questioning the relevance of renaming a road after a dead person.

‘No royal objection’

Liu clarified the situation, saying there has yet to be a final word on which road will be renamed.

"Initially it was either Jalan Barat or Persiaran Barat, but because the whole area is to undergo extensive redevelopment we felt we should spend some time on planning... we will certainly go through with renaming (a road)," he said.

Liu also brushed aside talk of opposition from Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor.

“The sultan knows the state’s intention to name a road in honour of V David. I think the story of the sultan not wanting the road to be renamed is not true," he added.

dr v david 110705 David, who died in July 2005, was a career unionist who made a name for himself fighting for workers' rights from as far back as 1953.

He served as Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general from 1976-1992 and was the Transport Workers' Union secretary-general for nearly 40 years from 1958.

He was also a politician with the DAP, winning the Bangsar parliamentary seat in 1959 and the Damansara parliamentary seat in 1978.