Fresh from retaining his position as the Malaysian Trades Unions Congress president, Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud today said that there was no rivalry between him and his senior officers in the union.

He added that the union’s new office bearers elected at the election yesterday shared a united vision to continue to fight for workers’ rights in this country.

“I don’t see any rivalry. I have worked with them for a long time and will continue to do so,” he said when asked to comment on yesterday’s polling that saw majority of the senior posts slipping into his rival’s hands.

“We have a lot of challenges ahead of us. There will be more burden on the MTUC in our fight and everyone must be focused on the battlefront rather than on our differences.” said Shahrir.

Incumbent Syed Shahir however managed to retain his post despite being pitted against a formidable rival.

Many had expected his contender, National Union of Telekom Employees president Mohd Shafie BP Mammal to win after he pledged allegiance with veteran MTUC secretary-general G Rajasekaran.

Shahrir, in the last elections three years ago, ended long-time MTUC leader Zainal Rampak's 18-year career in the country's biggest workers' umbrella body by teaming up with Rajasekaran. Their relationship has soured since then.

The rivalry between Syed Shahir and Rajasekaran is said to have stemmed from their ideological differences - Syed Shahir preferring a more “aggressive” method when tackling workers’ rights issues compared to Rajasekaran’s “moderate” approach.

Rajasekaran, who has held the secretary-general post for 14 years, had a close shave in yesterday's election by winning with a razor-thin margin of only four votes against Shahrir's ally, Club Workers Union president Abdullah Sani.

The government’s duty

Discarding the rivalry matter, Syed Shahir said that MTUC would continue to abide by the dialogue philosophy pertaining to solving disputes between employers and their workers.

“There will always be cooperation between MTUC, employers and the government when it comes to solving problems on workers’ issues.

“But before we talk of cooperation, every party involved must first respect the rights of all in order to avoid stagnancy when solving disputes between workers and employers.” stressed Syed Shahir.

He also said that the government in particular must perform its duty as an entity granted with powers to ensure that the welfare of the workers are always protected.

“Just because they are the government doesn’t mean that they can do anything. They are entrusted by the people, whom majority are workers, to guarantee that workers get a better life, not the other way around.” he said.