Judicial commissioner Chong Yeow Choy, however, attached several conditions to the order pending hearing of the stay application on Sept 27.

He said the current office-bearers are only permitted to conduct the day-to-day administrative affairs of the union and must refrain from making policy decisions on MTUC’s behalf.

The court also ordered the union not to conduct any fresh elections.

Earlier, Messrs Francis Pereira & Shan, representing the union, sought the interim stay, saying there were special circumstances as MTUC would otherwise be left without any leadership in the light of the court order handed down on Aug 11.

Lawyer Ravi Nekoo, representing the 11 plaintiffs, however, objected to the request.

He told the court the office-bearers elected at the annulled TDC had defied the court’s order declaring their election null and void by continuing to issue official letters on Aug 21 and Aug 22.

“They have ignored the decision of the court and continued operating as usual. This could lead to the MTUC being deregistered by the Registrar of Societies,” said Ravi.

However, the court held that the letters complained about were merely informative in nature and did not involve any policy matter.

Last year, a group of MTUC’s affiliates, led by former president Halim Mansor, filed two suits against the union’s newly elected principal officer-bearers, claiming that they had violated the organisation’s constitution when calling for the TDC.

Originally, 19 unions sought a declaration that the election was invalid, and an order to stop the new office-bearers for the 2022-2025 term from discussing or changing policy matters pending the disposal of the applications.

Eight have since withdrawn from the suit.