MTUC suspended by RoS

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has been suspended after the Registrar of Societies (RoS) opened an investigation paper into complaints of mismanagement against the federation of trade unions representing half a million workers in Malaysia.

In a statement, the RoS said it had received complaints in July that MTUC was not being managed properly.

“We opened an investigation paper into the complaints on Aug 29 under the Societies Act 1966.

“On Dec 18, we issued the notice under Section 13(2), which is the notice before the registration of a society is annulled. MTUC is given 30 days from the date of the notice to respond as to why it should not be annulled.

At the same time, RoS issued a suspension order (Notice 13(2A) to MTUC to ensure the society’s interests do not go against any regulation of societies, ” it said yesterday.

The statement was issued in response to an RoS letter announcing MTUC’s suspension which had gone viral on social media.

In an immediate reaction, MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon (pic) said MTUC would cooperate fully with RoS over the matter, adding that however he had yet to receive the notice of suspension from RoS.

“MTUC sought an urgent meeting on Dec 20 with Selangor RoS to clarify a letter dated Dec 16 which went viral, stating that we have been temporarily suspended pending our clarification on certain matters which were not specified.

“No such notice was received by the MTUC headquarters.

“A senior Selangor RoS official later confirmed that the Dec 16 letter was indeed from RoS, but has since been rescinded by RoS itself.

“Following this, the official said Selangor RoS has sent a fresh notice dated Dec 18 to MTUC. MTUC has also not received the said letter, ” said Solomon in a statement.

He said RoS had informed him of the said suspension but did not specify the reasons for the suspension.

“As MTUC has yet to receive this Dec 18 notice and given the lack of details by Selangor RoS in its meeting with us, MTUC is in the dark as to the reason behind the notification for our suspension.

“In the meantime, MTUC’s services to workers and affiliates will go on as normal, ” he said, adding that MTUC would wait for the letter dated Dec 18 and respond accordingly.

Solomon said MTUC also saw the viral letter as an attempt to smear its good name and reputation.