S. Subramaniam
Encyclopedia
S. Subramaniam here refers to the former deputy president of the Malaysian Indian Congress. For the government cabinet minister of the same name, see Subramaniam Sathasivam
Subramaniam Sathasivam
Datuk Dr. Subramaniam s/o. K.V. Sathasivam is a Malaysian politician of Indian origin and the current Human Resource Minister in the Malaysian federal cabinet. He is the Deputy President of the Malaysian Indian Congress , a major component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional...



Dato'
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....

 Subramaniam Sinniah (Tamil: சி. சுப்ரமணியம் ) or S. Subramaniam as he is known to his supporters, is a Malaysian Politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n origin and former deputy president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a major component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...

 (BN). He is also former Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 of Segamat
Segamat
Segamat is a town and district located in the north of the state of Johor in Malaysia, bordering two other states of Malaysia . It is located roughly 172 kilometres from Johor Bahru, the capital city of Johor State. It is 95 km travel distance via North-South Expressway from Johor Bahru to...

 and a former Deputy Minister.

Political history

When V. Manickavasagam
V. Manickavasagam
Tan Sri Dato' Seri V. Manickavasagam is the sixth president of the Malaysian Indian Congress from 1973–1978. He was also the former Minister for Communication in the Malaysian cabinet.-President of MIC:...

 became president of the Malaysian Indian Congress, he decided to introduce new faces to the party in leadership positions. This was the time when Subramaniam, K. Pathmanaban
K. Pathmanaban
Datuk Roto K. Pathmanaban is a former Malaysian deputy minister, vice-president of Malaysian Indian Congress and founder of Melaka Manipal Medical College.-Early life:...

, a Harvard MBA holder, and several others entered the political arena to infuse new blood into MIC, and Manickavasagam gave them preference. They were young, well-educated and ambitious but lacked grassroots experience.

This made Samy Vellu bitter as he was one of the five leaders who dared defy former president V.T. Sambanthan and propel Manickavasagam to the presidentship of the party.

Subramaniam, then the Secretary General of MIC, was hand-picked by Manickavasagam to succeed him; however, Samy Vellu fought back, literally, and in 1977 party elections edged over Subramaniam by a mere 26 votes to become the Deputy President of MIC.

When Manickavasagam died suddenly on 12 October 1979, Samy Vellu became the Acting President. But it was a divided party that Samy Vellu took over, with the rank and file on his side, and much of the Indian intelligentsia backing Subramaniam. In the ensuing years, Samy Vellu worked hard to remake MIC in his image. In 1981, Samy Vellu almost moved to sack Subramaniam, but following a 20-minute private talk with the latter, both came to some form of understanding, and peace prevailed in the party for the next five years.

Bad blood with Samy Vellu

Subramaniam is known not to be in good terms with MIC's president, Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu
Samy Vellu
Dato' Seri Samy Vellu Sangalimuthu is an Indian Malaysian politician. He is the longest serving President of the Malaysian Indian Congress , a component party of the Barisan Nasional coalition, holding the position since 1979, for 11 consecutive terms...

 as Subramaniam was dropped as a candidate for the 11th general election by Samy Vellu - three days before nomination day. According to Samy Vellu, 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 Dato' G. Palanivel. In the 2006 party elections http://www.indianmalaysian.com/mic_battle_2006.html, Samy Vellu was eventually returned as president uncontested and Dato' 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
HINDRAF
HINDRAF or Hindu Rights Action Force ; Chinese:兴权 with its slogan of People's Power மக்கள் சக்தி ) began as a coalition of 30 Hindu non-governmental organizations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia...

) organised a rally on 25 November 2007 in Kuala Lumpur demanding 18 points to prevent further discrimination against ethnic Indians, whom had been marginalized for 50 years since the country's independence.As a result of this, Samy Vellu lost the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat.

Only 3 out of 9 MIC candidates for the 12th general election were selected. This was the worst defeat for MIC since the party was formed. However, Samy Vellu claimed that he was not responsible for MIC's lost. According to Australian political analyst, the Indian community did not reject Malaysian Indian congress but only Samy Vellu and his cronies http://abc.gov.au/news/stories/2007/11/26/2100714.htm?site=news. Many branch members agreed that the next man who can save the party is Dato Subra but the problem arose when the present president is not vacating the post. Many tricky methods and pressure were implied to corrupt Dato Subra's image because this is the only way for Samy Vellu to remain in the post.However, the new generation are educated and broad minded. All the foolish attempt against Dato Subra has been reflected.It is also predicted that the Samy Vellu could destroy MIC and lead the Indians into his slavery. According to some political analyst a shift of power will take place soon and Dato Subra will bring a fresh air for Indians.Resignation of MIC youth chief S.A Vickneswaran is another blow for Samy Vellu. Dato Subra stated a blog to communicate with all Indians from all background. The blog can be found on http://datosubra.com/ and received a very good response. For 2009 MIC deputy presidency election likely to be held on 12 sept and it is a three corner fight between Dato' Subra, Palanivelu and Sothinathan. Some political analyst believe that Sothinathan was planted by Samy Velu to split Dato Subra vote and gain easy win for Palanivel. Dato Palanivel won the deputy post for the second time with a narrow majority.

Maika controversy

Officials said about 900 shareholders including Subramaniam, Samy Vellu
Samy Vellu
Dato' Seri Samy Vellu Sangalimuthu is an Indian Malaysian politician. He is the longest serving President of the Malaysian Indian Congress , a component party of the Barisan Nasional coalition, holding the position since 1979, for 11 consecutive terms...

 and Democratic Action Party
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...

 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. Abdul Rashid, the CEO of Maika had a tough time controlling the crowd. One faction aligned with MIC president Samy Vellu and the other with Subramaniam, shouting at each other. Despite the heated exchanges, the meeting went on smoothly, with Abdul Rashid replying to the questions put forward by the various shareholders including DAP's Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran. At about 1pm, the shareholders were asked to vote on the various resolutions including one calling for the sale of the insurance company Oriental Capital Assurance Berhad (OCAB) for RM129.8 million.

Maika's management claimed that the sale of OCAB would enable the company to clear its outstanding debts and repay the shareholders who wanted to withdraw their investments. Speaking to reporters later, Subramaniam said he was pushed when he tried to put forward a suggestion at the meeting. He said he was not opposed to the sale of OCAB but wanted Maika should give the first option to an Indian community-linked company or cooperative so that its majority stake would remain in the community's hands. http://powerpresent.blogspot.com/2007/08/more-pics-video-pandemonium-24th-maika.html Subramaniam then lodged a police report.
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