From K Veeriah

Labour Day comes and goes every May 1 as the only public holiday specifically designated to recognise the sacrifices of the working-class population.

Though that is the essence of Labour Day, the struggle to have May 1 declared a public holiday in Malaysia is seldom remembered, not accorded due recognition or, in the worst-case scenario, unknown among later generations of workers and trade union leaders.

The narrative of the relentless campaign by one man, the late V David, to have May 1 declared a public holiday, is lost to the annals of history.

David, both as a trade unionist and an MP, pursued the goal of making May 1 a paid public holiday.

Through his persistent campaign, the government relented and declared that, starting in 1973, May 1 would be recognised as a public holiday, coinciding with International Labour Day.

There is no doubt that we are indebted to David for his single-minded quest to coax the government of the day into granting a public holiday.

Sadly, David’s contributions have almost faded into oblivion.

He remains an unsung and forgotten hero, even among the current generation of workers and trade union leaders.

Born in 1932, David was exposed to the stark realities of social injustice while growing up in a squatter settlement along Klang Road.

He completed his Senior Cambridge studies while helping his father deliver milk. As a teenager, he was the “go-to man” in the settlement, and at the age of 22, he was elected a Kuala Lumpur municipal councillor.

In 1953, he was instrumental in forming the Selangor Mill Workers Union, which subsequently merged with the Selangor Factory Workers Union, changing its name to the National Union of Factory and General Workers. The organisation grew both in numbers and popularity.

In 1958, he was detained by the Alliance government under the Emergency Ordinance — the first of three subsequent detentions under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1964, 1969, and during Operation Lalang in 1987.

In 1959, at the age of 26, he was elected as the Bangsar MP, becoming the youngest parliamentarian at the time.

He later joined Gerakan and was elected as the Datuk Keramat MP in Penang in 1969. David was also elected as the DAP MP for Damansara in 1978, and for Puchong in 1986 and 1990.

As a unionist, David was a member of the Transport Workers Union for 37 years. He initially served as a vice-president of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and later as its secretary-general.

David also served as a governing body member of the International Labour Organization and in the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

After David died in 2005, MTUC called on the Selangor government to name a road in recognition of his contributions as a unionist and a four-term MP.

However, such a call fell on deaf ears of the government at the time.

Today, I propose that the current Pakatan Harapan-led government and the Penang government name a road in David’s honour.

K Veeriah is a veteran trade unionist and an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.