519 police reports filed: Do we really want guys like Wahid to be in our Cabinet?

National Union of Banking Employees (NUBE) will be filling cases against former Maybank Chief Executive Officer Abdul Wahid Omar at the Jalan Duta Court Complex magistrate court’s registrar office.

Since 2010, the violations of basic human rights by Abdul Wahid and Management team transgressed and diminish the little honour and dignity of Maybank workers.

The final straw came when he sacked human rights defenders - NUBE Vice-President Abdul Jamil Jalaludeen and Honorary Treasurer Chen Ka Fatt, both, Maybank employees at Pulau Tikus branch in Penang and Ipoh Garden branch in Ipoh for holding a banner that carried the word “Maybank robs poor Malaysian workers” to create awareness while attending the International Labour Organisation’s convention in Geneva.

This is economic assassination of the livelihood of the two (2) human rights defenders and their families.

519 police reports

Protesting the sacking, NUBE members around the country lodged some 519 police reports in various parts of the country. Following the police reports, NUBE members as complainants have obtained Refer to Magistrate (RTM) certificate from the police station to refer the cases to be further investigated by the magistrate court.

NUBE General Secretary, J Solomon said that Maybank clearly violated the basic human rights protection provided for Trade Unions and the Industrial Relations Act 1967 by dismissing Jamil and Chen who are human rights defenders.

Section 59 and 39 of the Act prohibits any attempt by employers to intimidate unionists from performing their tasks. The employers can be jailed up to one year or be fined if found guilty of doing so.

Using profits made from the people against the people

Maybank a Government Linked Company should be exemplary to other GLCs by abiding the law, respecting basic human rights and addressing the grievances voiced by NUBE.

Instead, Maybank has used the profits made from the people against the people.

That's not all, during his tenure as CEO of Maybank, Wahid has widen the income gap between the rich and poor by rewarding the top management including himself luxurious performance bonuses whilst the lower income employees are deprived of any performance bonus payment. The salaries of the lower income group are also kept low despite the increase in the cost of living.

Avoided the courts

Wahid has avoided attending Courts where the violation have been challenged.

Wahid must be held responsible for the violations committed whilst he was the CEO of Maybank and the violations must be rectified.

How can he be appointed as a minister, when he has blatantly violated basic human rights and when there are cases against him pending in the courts?

In view of the blatant violations of human rights by Wahid, NUBE urges the PM to review Wahid's appointment as a Minister in the PM's Department for the Economic Planning Unit portfolio in the best interest of the 28 Million Malaysians.

NUBE