KLANG: One of Malaysia’s most prolific trade unionists G. Rajasekaran (pic) passed away on Sunday after a short bout of illness.
Rajasekaran, who was the longest-serving Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general, passed away at Assunta Hospital surrounded by his family.
He had served as the MTUC secretary-general from 1992 to 2010 and had also held various other positions in the congress before that.
Rajasekaran was elected eight times as the MTUC secretary-general until his decision to not stand for re-election in 2010.
He was also the executive secretary of the Malaysian Metal Industry Employees’ Union (MIEU), which he founded in 1963.
According to his son Gary, 47, Rajasekaran had served as the MIEU executive secretary right up until last Wednesday, just four days before his demise.
“He was not feeling well on Thursday. We admitted him to Assunta Hospital on Friday. We were told he had had a heart attack and because of this, his lungs were filled with fluid,” said Gary.
Rajasekaran and his comrade, former MTUC president Tan Sri Zainal Rampak, 83, were a formidable duo as they battled for various incentives and rights for the nation’s workforce.
Zainal said the country had lost a dedicated labour activist.
“We never changed our stand with regards to protecting workers’ rights from the time we joined the labour movement until now.
“We faced a lot of struggles together, but we never gave up,” he added.
MTUC, Zainal said, made its mark regionally as well as at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) during their tenure at the helm.
Former human resources minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, who has had many meetings with Rajasekaran, recalled the trade unionist as someone who was very tough yet understanding and reasonable.
“He always stood up for the rights of the workers, and whenever there was a disagreement between the government and the trades union movement, we used to forward it (the disagreement) for arbitration,” recalled Fong, who was the human resources minister from 1999 to 2008.
During arbitration, he said, Rajasekaran would be gentlemanly and understanding.
Rajasekaran leaves behind his wife, Mimi Ang, two sons and two grandchildren.
