Four years of intense infighting has left the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) some RM3 million poorer, said its recently elected general-secretary J Solomon, who blamed it on official inaction and lack of political will.

"We're sad the government never played a responsible role in solving the deadlock. In fact, trade unions had to spend money for a court decision when there was a simpler solution.

"If the authorities, the Director-General of Trade Unions (DGTU) then had listened to us and exercised their powers, this would have been resolved a long time ago," he said in a recent interview with malaysiakini .

He believed that immediate action would have saved the once-richest and best-run trade union in the country, now badly battle-scarred.

Solomon, who said he could never stomach injustices of any kind, said the NUBE was equally sad with the lack of political will displayed by both the former and present premiers.

"We had brought up this issue to the attention of both Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Members had forwarded numerous memorandums to cabinet ministers and elected representatives.

"None of them tried or managed to resolve the problem."

Ministry's inability puzzling

He said the Malaysian Trades Union Congress' (MTUC) appeal to court had done some good.

"The last three DGTUs were all too eager to de-register the NUBE and during this time, one bank had taken advantage of creating an in-house union."

The government's move to de-register the NUBE, he said, was hampered by pressure from the MTUC affiliates.

"The labour center came out very strongly with the leaders of 90 unions objecting to it."

However, he found the ministry's inability to resolve the matter a continuing mystery.

"We're still puzzled. We don't understand why the ministry didn't try its best to resolve the problem, except for spurts of action following media reports.

"Either someone in there is not advising the minister correctly or is very mischievous," he said, citing the contrast to the government's reaction to the 90 illegal workers who had raised their problem in the media.

The new leadership now is focused on delivering the election promises, starting with the collective agreement as the number one priority.

Having given itself two years to put its house in order, Solomon said the union was looking for an accountant with audit experience to clean up the mess accumulated over the last four years.

Reiterating that there are no longer any factions in the NUBE, he said there is always the possibility of the losing team either sabotaging ongoing efforts for change or challenging the election result in court.

To him, the biggest challenge is getting the real trade union work done now that legitimacy has been restored.

"The first good news was when the Malayan Commercial Banks' Association officially resumed the automatic check-off facility for payment of union subscription a day after we took office on Aug 8."

The discontinuation of the facility during the crisis period had caused big problems in terms of revenue generation, prompting Solomon's group to source for funds via other means including loans and contracted jobs with banks.

Real work ahead

"The election is nothing. The crisis is nothing. The real work starts now, to get members what they've lost in the last three to four years such as a decent salary, respect as employees, mutual respect among peers and with superiors, and a good standard of living.

"I think everyone is under the impression that bank workers are rich, that they have a lot of money and feel that the bank's money belongs to the staff. What people don't realise is that we're the lowest-paid in the banking sector."

Solomon, 45, said he is looking forward to the challenges facing the NUBE.

"This is what I've wanted to do for the last four years. Our members must play an important role not only in banking but also directly and indirectly contribute to the country's growth as we are working in an important sector. We must not be left out."

Smear campaign

The man who has withstood immense pressure from within the union and outside also survived vicious personal attacks via an extensive smear campaign during the election run-up.

"I've been accused of being anti-Muslim. They (rivals) sent flyers that read ' Talqin untuk J Solomon' at the national mosque and from the pondok panas in Kelantan. I was told that those were funeral verses. I immediately lodged a police report when I was in Kota Baru.

"They also accused me of swindling RM5.7 million of NUBE funds, how all banks disliked me and labelled me a drunkard and a womaniser. They smeared my religion, my race, my staff, my parents and my whole family.

"Until today I'm receiving quite nasty SMS (mobile text messaging) threats of a very personal nature."

There were many times, he said, when he had felt like throwing in the towel.

"The most trying was when the BCB dismissed nine members and me. If they had dismissed only me it's ok, but they removed others. This is unacceptable to any trade union movement. They were just carrying out union duties.

"Thank God all of us we have survived the worst of times."

Solomon, who was born and schooled in Georgetown, Penang, was also thankful that his family came out the better for it given the intensity of the infighting.

"They're ok. I'd say that no wife would like to experience something like this. It was tough but her being a homemaker made it a little easier as she could stay home and take care of the boys.

"It wasn't at all easy. I got so engrossed in this for the last four years that I sometimes forgot I had a family. But my whole family, friends and the Evangelical Lutheran Church parishioners prayed for me and supported me throughout."

He said he only wished to stay in power long enough to clean up the mess left in the wake of the prolonged crisis, giving himself two terms or six years to do so including groom a new leadership to take over NUBE.

Q&A with J Solomon