By NNN-Bernama
Kuala Lumpur : The Transport Workers Union (TWU), one of Malaysia’s major trade unions and which had previously been a staunch supporter of the opposition, has expressed its full support to the ruling National Front coalition in this Saturday’s general election.
Its secretary-general Zainal Rampak said here Wednesday that the coalition, which has ruled Malaysia for the past 50 years since independence, had performed extremely well and Malaysian workers had been enjoying the fruits of national development.
The country’s road system had improved by leaps and bounds with the construction of world-class highways, said Zainal, who added: “Almost all villages in the country are accessible by roads, and major cities are intergrated with the national highway grid. The voters must consider these successes when casting their votes.”
He said in a statement that Malaysian workers were also enjoying among the highest standards of living in Southeast Asia.
He described the opposition as “racially and religiously fragmented” which would never be able to emulate “the sterling success of the National Front”.
He said the opposition lacked the much-needed cohesion, team spirit and collective leadership qualities which the BN had developed through the 50 years of Malaysia’s nationhood.
He hoped that the government would look into bolstering the country’s labour laws, in particular the Employment Act and the Industrial Relation Act. The two Acts should be fully aligned with the core convention of the International Labour Organization, he said.
Zainal said the government should also consider looking into the minimum wage and job security issue to create “an egalitarian and dynamic society”.