V. David

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Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates David S. Vethamuthu (Tamil: வி. டேவிட்) (26 August 1932 – 10 July 2005) was a Malaysian unionist and former opposition politician.[1] He won a seat in the Malaysian parliament four times, representing the constituencies of Bangsar, Dato' Kramat, Damansara and Puchong.

While in parliament, he was known to be fearless and vocal in raising issues concerning the Indian community in Malaysia. He later became the chairman of the World Tamil Association in 1984. He is famously known for making Labour Day a public holiday in Malaysia.[2]

Career

Trade unions

David was a founding member and secretary of Selangor Factories Association in 1953. He was known as 'King David' among local and international trade union circles and served as MTUC secretary-general from 1976 to 1992.[3] He was also the Transport Workers Union secretary-general from 1958 to 1995.

David was best known for setting up the Workers Institute of Technology (WIT) in Port Klang in the early 1970s, which provided education opportunities for thousands of workers' children over the years.

At the international level, he served as the executive board member of the International Transport Federation and the International Confederation of Free Trade Union, and represented Malaysian workers at numerous International Labour Organization (ILO) conferences in Geneva, Switzerland.

Politics

David was elected as Kuala Lumpur town councillor and became the Transport Workers Union's secretary in 1958. In 1959, he was elected Bangsar Member of Parliament under the ticket of the Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front as well as the state seat of Pantai, both in Selangor. However, in 1964, he lost his seat to Devan Nair of the People's Action Party although he kept his state seat.

In 1969, David returned to parliament by winning the Dato' Kramat seat in Penang and was re-elected to his Pantai state seat for the third time, both under the newly formed Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia.

When Gerakan joined the Barisan Nasional in 1973, David resigned to join the Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia (Pekemas). In the 1974 general election, both his Dato' Kramat and Pantai seats were abolished in a re-delineation exercise. David contested in the Jelutong parliament seat (also in Penang) for Pekemas against Rasiah Rajasingam, a former Gerakan colleague, but lost.

In 1978, as a candidate of the Democratic Action Party this time, David defeated Malaysian Indian Congress strongman, Deputy Minister S. Subramaniam for the Damansara parliament seat. He failed to retain his seat again in 1982 to Tan Koon Swan who later became Malaysian Chinese Association president. In 1986 and 1990, David was elected as Puchong Member of Parliament and, in 1995, stepped down for health reasons.

David was arrested under the Emergency Ordinance in 1958. He was also arrested under Internal Security Act in 1964, 1969, (after the 13 May race riots) and 1987 (Ops Lalang).

David became chairman of the World Tamil Association in 1984. He authored a book, Freedom that Never Came, chronicling his views on the post-independence period in Malaysia.[4]

Death

David died in July 2005.[5] He had served the workers for nearly 40 years from 1958 until he fell sick in 1995.

Recognition

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has called on the Selangor state government to name a road after veteran trade unionist, the late V. David, in appreciation of his lifelong struggle to fight for workers' rights.[6]

MTUC vice-president A. Balasubramaniam said there was already a precedent when Jalan 222 here was named after P. P. Narayanan, another noteworthy trade unionist. He said David deserved the honour because he served the workers for nearly 40 years from 1958 until he fell sick in 1995.

Cuepacs secretary-general Ahmad Shah Mohd Zin supported the proposal, saying union leaders should also be recognised "for their struggles and sacrifices in improving the lives of helpless workers."

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1959 P071 Bangsar V. David (LPM) 9,734 40.59% Template:Party shading/Independent | Koh Pooi Kee (IND) 6,821 28.45% 24,177 2,913 68.01%
Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Lau Joo Kooi (MCA) 5,036 21.00%
Ong Yeow Kay (PPP) 2,388 9.96%
1964 V. David (LPM) 12,686 33.24% Devan Nair (PAP) 13,494 35.36% 39,453 808 67.72%
Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Koh Pooi Kee (MCA) 9,761 25.58%
Chew Choo Soot (PPP) 2,219 5.81%
1969 P037 Dato' Kramat V. David (Gerakan) 17,272 75.40% Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Lim Chong Hai (MCA) 5,635 24.60% 23,955 11,637 77.14%
1974 P043 Jelutong rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/PEKEMAS | V. David (PEKEMAS) 6,955 20.05% Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Rasiah Rajasingam (Gerakan) 16,112 46.45% 35,560 5,960 79.74%
Template:Party shading/Democratic Action Party | Gooi Hock Seng @ Goi Hock Seng (DAP) 10,152 29.27%
Teh Eng Siang (PSRM) 1,467 4.23%
1978 P086 Damansara rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Democratic Action Party | V. David (DAP) 21,461 47.43% Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Subramaniam Sinniah (MIC) 18,239 40.31% 45,584 3,222 67.75%
Template:Party shading/PAS | Syed Ibrahim Syed Abdul Rahman (PAS) 5,386 11.90%
Template:Party shading/PEKEMAS | Thinakaran Rajakannu (PEKEMAS) 161 0.36%
1982 rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Democratic Action Party | V. David (DAP) 20,137 34.53% Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Tan Koon Swan (MCA) 34,659 59.43% 58,772 14,522 67.88%
Template:Party shading/PAS | Ramli Mohamed Yasin (PAS) 3,527 6.05%
1986 P091 Puchong rowspan=3 Template:Party shading/Democratic Action Party | V. David (DAP) 35,145 58.72% Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Lui Thai Heng (MCA) 20,616 34.45% 61,052 14,529 75.37%
Template:Party shading/PAS | Asri Janang (PAS) 2,409 4.02%
bgcolor=Template:Party color | Yeoh Poh San (SDP) 1,684 2.81%
1990 Template:Party shading/Democratic Action Party | V. David (DAP) 34,967 51.69% Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Tan Yee Kew (MCA) 32,686 48.31% 68,684 2,281 69.57%
Selangor State Legislative Assembly[7]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1964 N13 Pantai rowspan=3 bgcolor=Template:Party color | V. David (LPM) 5,701 37.14% Template:Party shading/Alliance Party (Malaysia) | Seow Yu Boon (MCA) 5,341 34.79% 15,725 360 68.26%
bgcolor=Template:Party color | Goh Hock Guan (PAP) 3,958 25.78%
bgcolor=Template:Party color | Cheong Thiam Leong (PPP) 352 2.29%
1969 bgcolor=Template:Party color | V. David (Gerakan) 16,117 72.58% Template:Party shading/Alliance Party (Malaysia) | C. K. Cheah (MCA) 6,088 27.42% 23,172 10,029 62.69%
1974 N25 Petaling Jaya rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/PEKEMAS | V. David (PEKEMAS) 5,219 26.25% Template:Party shading/DAP | Fan Yew Teng (DAP) 8,597 43.24% 20,248 2,530 74.85%
Template:Party shading/Barisan Nasional | Chan Jee Swee (GERAKAN) 6,067 30.51%

References

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External links

Trade union offices
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/checkTemplate:Succession box/check General Secretary of the Malaysian Trade Union Congress
1978–1992 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

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