Zainal is the president, says an unhappy MTUC No 2

comments     Yusof Ghani     Published     Updated

After battling for several months, Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) deputy president Mohamed Shafie BP Mammal said today he has to accept the fact that Senator Zainal Rampak will be the congress president until 2004 whether he likes it or not.

He said he would inform his supporters that the president's post belonged to Zainal until his three-year term expired.

Speaking at a joint-media conference with Zainal at the National Union of Telecoms Employees Malaysia (NUTE) office in Kuala Lumpur, he said he will stick to the announcement made by Zainal o­n Dec 21 that the latter would remain in office despite an earlier agreement between the duo.

"Whether I like it or not, the decision has been made (on Dec 21, 2002). The decision is final," he said.

Asked whether he felt cheated, Mohamed Shafie said the senator's action was similar to "someone who refuses to sell the house despite having taken the deposit".

Prior to the MTUC triennial election in March last year, the duo inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that Zainal would step down by Jan 1 this year and allow his deputy to take over o­n the condition that the latter does not contest in the election.

The senator, a former DAP member who later joined Umno, has been at the helm of the congress for the past 14 years.

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