“I am officially the president now and I hope the current leaders accept this reality. Let’s put the 30 months that have been wasted in the past and start charting a new course for the movement which has seen many setbacks because of Covid-19,” he told FMT when contacted.

Halim thanked Jafar, who heads the National Union of Telekom Employees, for his gesture, saying it would put the MTUC back on the right track as several decisions had been on hold for too long.

He said the Registrar of Societies had been informed that Jafar had officially withdrawn from the race for the presidency which had ended in a tie between them in 2019.

In the 2019 union election, Halim and Jafar obtained the same number of votes with the third contender Nor Azlan Yaacob losing. However, the MTUC leadership insisted on having a re-election involving all three. When Nor Azlan passed away last October, Halim and Jafar  pushed for a re-election but the existing leadership delayed it.

Earlier today, Jafar submitted a letter of withdrawal to the MTUC leadership and the Registrar of Societies.

The former deputy president said he was pulling out of the dispute to put the MTUC back on the right track, adding that Halim could now take over the congress.

Halim plans to call for a working committee meeting as soon as possible to set dates for the general council meeting.

“Under the MTUC constitution, the next Triennial Delegates Conference should be held between October and December. I want to get back to work,” he said.