Special Award For CEUPACS President Recognises Civil Service Struggle

KEPALA BATAS, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CEUPACS) president Datuk Dr Adnan Mat was named the recipient of the Minister of Human Resources Special Award at the 2025 National Trade Union Assembly, held here today.

Adnan, speaking to reporters after the ceremony, said that the award was recognition by the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA), not only for him personally, but for all public sector workers.

“The award received today is deeply meaningful, especially throughout my involvement in leading CEUPACS, but it (the award) is truly for all groups of workers, including those in the public sector.

“Congratulations also to Human Resources Minister Steven Sim and KESUMA, for organising the largest assembly in history and for the first time, bringing together workers from both the government and private sectors, which form the backbone of the country’s services,” he said.

Sim said this in his speech at the ceremony, which was attended by more than 3,000 workers from both the public and private sectors. Also present were Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president, Datuk Abdul Halim Mansor and Union Network International-Malaysian Liaison Council (UNI-MLC) president, Datuk Mohamed Shafie Mammal.

The gathering also saw the presentation of five Trade Union Awards 2025, in recognition of individuals and trade unions which have made significant contributions in championing the interests of workers in Malaysia.

Aminuddin Awang, president of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), received the Trade Union Figure Award, while the Exemplary Trade Union Award (Public Sector) was presented to the Support Staff Union for Islamic Affairs of the Perak Islamic Religious Department (KESOJA).

The Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd Workers’ Union received the Exemplary Trade Union Award (Private Sector), while the Exemplary Trade Union Award (Statutory Body) was presented to the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) Support Service Workers’ Union (KEJASA).

Adnan received RM7,000 in cash, along with a certificate and trophy, while Aminuddin was awarded RM6,000, a certificate, and a trophy. The three other award recipients each received RM3,000, a certificate, and a trophy.

Meanwhile, Abdul Halim noted that MTUC’s earlier efforts focused on securing a minimum wage, which was achieved under the leadership of the MADANI Government. He added that the current focus is on advocating for education certification for lower-tier workers.

He said KESUMA has several institutions for certification, and MTUC will continue to collaborate to ensure that more workers can attend courses there, not only to enhance their education, but also their skills.

“I would like to thank Sim for providing an allocation of RM100,000 to MTUC. When the association needed funding, I wrote to him, but didn’t even mention a sum because I was too shy to ask. Yet we received RM100,000, which will be used for the education of MTUC members,” he added.

In the meantime, Mohamed Shafie said that, on behalf of his union members, he would like to thank Sim and KESUMA for planning various initiatives for workers, particularly the recently passed Gig Workers Bill 2025.

He added that UNI-MLC would continue to support all initiatives and proposals for new legislation benefiting workers, as he has confidence in Sim’s capability and his outstanding leadership of KESUMA over the past 21 months.

“He (Sim) has energised and revived various initiatives to raise awareness among trade unions, and now there are multiple collaborations between us, the trade unions, and KESUMA, so that we can collectively serve the workers, reflecting his service-oriented approach,” he said.

Earlier, Sim announced financial aid of RM100,000 to MTUC for this year.

-- BERNAMA