the blogging syed shahir

By DEVID RAJAH

PETALING JAYA: MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud will contest a parliamentary seat in Selangor to continue the legacy of past union leaders who represented the workers in Parliament.

Speculation is rife that Syed Shahir will contest either in the Kelana Jaya or Shah Alam parliamentary constituency.

Syed Shahir, 56, confirmed that he would be contesting under a PKR ticket but declined to reveal where he would be standing.

“I have contested in the past and I will continue to do so to represent and safeguard workers’ rights in Parliament,” said Syed Shahir, a former teacher and Bachelor of Business Administration degree holder.

He said although he would be contesting under a PKR ticket, his priority was to fight for all categories of workers, including those serving as executives or holding middle management posts.

“Workers must realise that their current job security is being threatened due to rapid globalisation and if policymakers don’t provide a safety net, they will face a host of problems,” said Syed Shahir who represents Malaysia in the International Labour Organisation’s governing body and is president of Asean Trade Union Council.

Syed Shahir, who defeated the former MTUC president Zainal Rampak for the post, is not a novice to politics. He contested and lost a state seat in Pahang at the age of 22 under the former Parti Sosial Rakyat Malaysia ticket.

A member of Parti Rakyat Malaysia until the merger with Parti Keadilan Nasional (now PKR) in 2003, Syed Shahir again contested and lost the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat in 2004, under the Keadilan ticket.

Syed Shahir, who has his own blogsite (http://syedshahir.blogsome.com), believes his party affiliation was not something unusual among union leaders or members.