While many in the union movement welcome yesterday's court order for fresh polls for the beleaguered National Union of Bank Employees, some have warned that the landmark decision may have deep implications for Malaysian trade unions.

A lawyer representing one faction of NUBE lamented that the court decision might result in the Director-General of Trade Unions (DTGU) - the regulator of trade union affairs - exercising 'absolute power' in interfering with the country's union movement.

D Kalai, the counsel for NUBE faction lead by Muhammad Fauzi Shamsuddin, nevertheless said that the decision was long overdue and that fresh polls would be a good opportunity for the 28,000-member union to break the deadlock between the two feuding factions.

However, he said the Court of Appeal decision had provide the DGTU the authority to interfere in not only NUBE's affairs but also that of all other trade unions.

"The interpretation of section 3 and 4A of the Trades Union Act (1959) by the appellate court now gives the DGTU an omnibus power. He can get involved in the day-to-day business of the unions, and his scope is virtually unlimited," Kalai told malaysiakini when contacted.

NUBE - once the wealthiest and best-run trade union in the country - has been at a standstill since 2001 when it split into two groups - one led by Abdul Jalil Hamid while the other by Fauzi, whom Kalai represents.

The two groups have been bitterly divided over the union's rightful leaders, and are unable to agree on who should conduct an election to determine NUBE's legitimate leadership.

Respect court order

A 20-member caretaker committee comprising ordinary members of the union was later established, under the auspices of the Malaysian Trade Unions Congress, to overcome the stalemate.

The committee subsequently took legal action after the DGTU refused to conduct a fresh election. He had owed his reluctance to the reading of the law governing the unions, citing that he had no powers to hold fresh polls for NUBE.

The High Court threw out the committee's application on Dec 14, but that ruling was overturned by Court of Appeal justices Denis Ong, Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud and S Augustine Paul, who yesterday instructed the DGTU to conduct fresh elections in four months' time.

Kalai agreed that the decision for a new NUBE election should have been made a long time ago.

"But it (the decision) now means that the only way to curb the possible practice of arbitrary powers by the DGTU will be by parliamentary intervention or by an appeal to the Federal Court," said Kalai.

He however said the appellate court's decision must be respected and that the group he represents would not want to "disturb" the progress made by NUBE.

"I don't want to say if we will make an appeal. We must all take some time to think about it and discuss it maturely with the interests of the larger union movement in mind before making a decision," he added.

Wise move

Meanwhile, J Solomon - a key leader of the other NUBE faction - was thrilled with the court decision.

He said the DGTU should have conducted the long-overdue elections much earlier to avoid union members having made to "suffer" in the past four years.

"We are very happy that finally there is a solution for the NUBE. It was a wise decision not only for the 28,000 union members but also for all finance company workers. We hope that the DGTU will work hard over the next four months and conduct the elections in a fair and transparent manner.

"We supported the (caretaker) committee's court application and will continue to support the committee in whatever capacity needed," added Solomon when contacted today.

On the preparations for the elections, Solomon said that in accordance with union rules and its constitution, there should not be any restrictions on candidates to campaign in the polls.

NUBE has nine branches and procedurally, branch-level elections should held first, followed by elections for the union's nine principal office bearers.

The nine posts are that of the president, deputy president, four vice-presidents, a secretary-general, assistant secretary-general and treasurer.