NRI Malaysian Datuk Subramaniam, the human resources minister

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, Jan 22, 2009
Sampuran Singh

Datuk S. Subramaniam, former deputy president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Indian origin was born in 1944. He is the member of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) party. He is also former Member of Parliament of Segamat and a former Deputy Minister.

Subramaniam is known not be in good terms with MIC's president, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu as Subramaniam was dropped as a candidate for the 11th general election by Samy Vellu - three days before nomination day.

Subramaniam has enjoyed his time as a Member of Parliament, parliamentary secretary and deputy minister, citing "now it was the turn of others to taste such fame." Subramaniam stood to defend his deputy president post in the 2006 party elections but Samy Vellu went around campaigning that a vote for Subramaniam was a vote against Samy and that he endorsed Datuk G. Palanivel.

In the 2006 party elections, Samy Vellu was eventually returned as president uncontested and Datuk G. Palanivel trumped Subramaniam for the deputy president's post. Samy Vellu's image started to tarnish and he lost ethnic Indian support after Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) organised a rally on 25th November 2007 at Kuala Lumpur demanding 18 points to prevent further discrimination against ethnic Indians, whom had been marginilised for 50 years since the country's independence.

Officials said about 900 shareholders including Subramaniam, Samy Vellu and Democratic Action Party member of Parliament M. Kulasegaran attended the Maika (MIC's debt-ridden investment arm) annual general meeting, the first time that such a huge number had turned up in the company's history.

Datuk S. Subramaniam