Kerajaan PKR Selangor ‘Flip-Flop’ dan kencing DAP dan golongan kesatuan pekerja

Kerajaan PKR Selangor bawah pimpinan MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim telah ‘kencing’ warga DAP dan golongan pekerja kerana keputusan ‘Flip-Flop’ mengenai menamakan Jalan Barat di Petaling Jaya kepada Jalan V. David.

Laporan The Star:

Published: Saturday May 1, 2010 MYT 11:46:00 AM
Updated: Saturday May 1, 2010 MYT 1:28:30 PM

Jalan Barat not to be renamed after trade unionist (Update)

BY YIP YOKE TENG

PETALING JAYA: Jalan Barat will only be renamed Jalan Dr V. David when the Selangor state government unveils the redevelopment plan for Petaling Jaya, said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

He said while honouring the icon, the move would also be in tandem with the redevelopment of PJ, which is one of the state’s economic stimulus efforts that will eventually make it self sustainable and repositions it to free it from the common perception that it is the suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

“Under the redevelopment, roads will be upgraded and some of them will be renamed after those who have contributed to the state’s development.

“One of them is Jalan Barat. Selangor will not be what it is today without the fight of these heroes,” he said at the Labour Day celebration at PJ Civic Centre here on Saturday.

“It will not show the significance if the road is renamed now. It will take place when we unveil PJ’s redevelopment to show that it has been planned.

“Under the new traffic dispersal system, Jalan Barat will be realigned slightly and we may also rename other roads around here,” he added.

Khalid said the developer had submitted the plans for approval but the state was still evaluating the traffic impact, adding that the plans would be announced within a year.

“To have Jalan Dr V. David in place of Jalan Barat is to make it a symbol of the power of labour force,” said Khalid, to the cheers of a large crowd of workers at the Labour Day celebration at PJ Civic Centre.

Also present at the celebration were state executive councillor Ronnie Liu, PJ mayor Datuk Mohammad Roslan Sakiman, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Syed Syahir Syed Mohamud and deputy president Mohd Khalid Atan.

The change of name was to honour the late trade union leader, who for about 50 years served to uphold workers’ rights. He was also the MP for Bangsar, Damansara and later Puchong.

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Sebelum  ini semalam, Kerajaan PKR Selangor yang sama membuat pengumuman untuk menghargai V. David, seorang pemimpin golongan pekerja dan MP DAP bagi Bangsar, Damansara dan Puchong pada tahun 70-80an.

Laporan The Star semalam:

Published: Friday April 30, 2010 MYT 4:49:00 PM
Updated: Friday April 30, 2010 MYT 8:09:47 PM

Jalan Barat in PJ to be renamed Jalan Dr V. David

PETALING JAYA: Jalan Barat here will be renamed Jalan Dr V. David on Labour Day on May 1 by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Datuk Khalid Ibrahim, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress said in a statement on Friday.

MTUC thanked the Selangor government for recognising Dr David’s contribution to the labour movement.

Dr David, who died in July 2005 was a unionist and a former opposition DAP politician.

He won a seat in parliament representing the constituencies of Bangsar in 1959 and Damansara in 1978.

In parlaiment, he was known to be fearless and vocal in raising labour and Indian community issues.

He also served as MTUC secretary-general from 1976 to 1992. He was also the Transport Workers Union secretary-general from 1958 to 1995.

David was best known for setting up the Workers Institute of Technology (WIT) in Port Klang in the early 1970s, which provided education opportunities for thousands of workers’ children over the years.

At the international level, he served as the executive board member of the International Transport Federation and the International Confederation of Free Trade Union, and represented Malaysian workers at numerous International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conferences in Geneva, Switzerland.

He was arrested under the Emergency Ordinance in 1958 and then arrested again under the Internal Security Act 1964, 1969 (after May 13 racial riots) and 1987.

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DAP sebagai rakan kongsi Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor wajar merasa tersinggung dengan keputusan ‘Flip-Flop’ MB Khalid ini. Golongan pekerja juga wajar merasai sentimen yang serupa. Namun kehadiran Presiden MTUC Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud semasa pengumuman sempena Hari Pekerja 2010 pagi tadi di Dewan Sivik Petaling Jaya tidak wajar dilihat sebagai MTUC menyokong dan merestui keputusan ‘Flip-Flop’ ini. Ini kerana Syed Shahir juga merupakan seorang politikus PKR dan dilihat sentiasa mendukung keputusan Kepimpinan.

Syed Shahir merupakan calon PKR bagi kerusi Parlimen Pandan pada PRU 12. Namun beliau gagal kerana dikalahkan Presiden MCA Dato’ Seri Ong Tee Keat.

Amat malang kerana Kepimpinan Kesatuan Pekerja seperti Syed Shahir, juga merupakan Timbalan Pengerusi Perhubungan PKR Selangor, diselubungi dasar politik kepartian dan kepentingan golongan pekerja merupakan sekondari berbanding dengan agenda politik. Ini kerana menjaga kepentingan politik, kepentingan golongan perkerja boleh dikompromi, seperti berlaku dalam mengangkat jasa seorang pemimpin kesatuan pekerja.

Keputusan ‘Flip-Flop’ untuk menamakan semula Jalan Barat kepada Jalan V. David sebenarnya menafikan satu satunya seorang pemimpin DAP yang berkemungkinan diiktiraf peringkat nasional, macam pemimpin parti lain seperti UMNO, MCA dan MIC. Ini juga menguatkan pendapat bahawa DAP tidak membawa sumbangan kepada proses pembangunan negara-bangsa, maka pemimpin mereka yang begiat dalam arena lain pun tidak diiktiraf walaupun oleh rakan kongsi Pakatan Rakyat sendiri.