Jiwi Kathiah (1938-2020) – Unionist till the very end

COMMENT | A fiery speaker. A true defender of the working class. A unionist to the true sense. 

My first introduction about this man was when I was told that he once stood on the table to make his point to the bosses- perhaps to Mapa (Malayan Agricultural Producers Association). I laughed and the person told me that it is true and not a joke. After knowing him, I started to believe it. 

The man was full of passion when it comes to talking about the working class or defending them.

I was scolded once by him for calling May Day – Workers Day. He said you should call it "May Day". On numerous times, he called me and said we must get the young people involved. He attacked careerist unionist and had no kind words for this kind of union leaders who he called as not union leaders but union dealers. I am always afraid of him because he doesn’t mince his words nor his tone.

GV Kathiah was the general secretary of Amesu (All Malayan Estate Staff Union). During his time, he called for the merger of Amesu and NUPW (National Union of Plantation Workers) on the basis of working-class solidarity. It was opposed by all but on the question of class - Kathiah was correct.

In 2008, I made my election debut by standing in Semenyih using the PKR logo since PSM was not registered. There were some in PKR not happy giving the seat to a socialist. At the opening speech at my office, Kathiah in his usual loud fiery speech, said Jesus, Lord Krishna etc, they are all communist. 

The audience was stunned with his boldness and I was told that some people sent the recording to Anwar Ibrahim to stop PKR from allowing PSM to stand in Semenyih using PKR logo.

On another occasion, he shared his meeting with Chin Peng in Thailand during a ceremony to commemorate the Hatyai Peace Accord. He told me that he challenged Chin Peng to come back to Malaysia only to be quickly ushered by Chin Peng’s aide to leave the place.

In an event attended by many Indian Malaysians in Johor on June 21, 2014, Kathiah told the audience that it is important for them to fight on class lines rather than on racial lines. He said the working class must be united to the fight the blood-sucking capitalist. That is his language, which I believe he stood firm to his grave. In that event, he even told people to join PSM and told us to recruit young people. He said what we are doing now is not enough.

Knowing his failing health, we got some PSM members to do a recording of him because that man is full of history and convictions. It was hard to do the interview as he was reluctant to meet people, perhaps because of his health condition. 

Kathiah, fondly known as Jiwi, was always a workaholic and hardworking. Till the end, writing articles for Malaysiakini, attending events even as he was approaching 80.

My last encounter with him was at the historical town of Batu Arang on May 4, 2019. His health was then failing and he was even unsure how he came to the venue. But once he held the microphone and started speaking, he was loud and clear as usual. He talked about Ganapathi and Veerasenan – the great union leaders from PMFTU (Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Union). 

I remember in his speech he said that the Batu Arang field was once filled with workers during May Day and now we can only have a crowd of people confined in a tent. He called us to work harder in getting young people committed to the working-class struggle.

Rest in peace, comrade Kathiah. A true working-class fighter till the end. We will try our best to keep up to your high ideals. 

Jiwi Kathiah passed away at the age of 82 yesterday.

S ARUTCHELVAN is deputy chairperson of Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.