Datuk Seri
The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
Palanivel s/o K. Govindasamy ( ta, பழனிவேல் கோவிந்தசாமி, Paḻaṉivēl kōvintacāmi; born 1 March 1949), commonly known as G Palanivel is a
Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who served as
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment from May 2013 to July 2015,
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department is a member of Cabinet of Malaysia who administers a portfolio through the Prime Minister's Department.
List of Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department
The following individuals have been appo ...
from August 2011 to May 2013,
Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities,
Deputy Minister of Rural Development,
Deputy Minister of Welfare and Family Development,
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from May 2010 to May 2013,
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Cameron Highlands
The Cameron Highlands ( ms, Tanah Tinggi Cameron, , ta, கேமரன் மலை) is a district in Pahang, Malaysia, occupying an area of . To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with ...
from May 2013 to May 2018 and
Hulu Selangor
Hulu Selangor is a district in Selangor, Malaysia. It contains the towns of Serendah, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Bharu. Its principal town is Kuala Kubu Bharu. The district is located in the northeastern part of Selangor and borders the state ...
from October 1990 to March 2008. He is a member and served as the 8th President of the
Malaysian Indian Congress
The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC; ta, மலேசிய இந்திய காங்கிரஸ், Malēciya Intiya Kāṅkiras; formerly known as Malayan Indian Congress) is a Malaysian political party. It is one of the founding membe ...
(MIC), a component party of the ruling
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
(BN) coalition, from December 2010 to June 2014.
Background
Palanivel was born in
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
on 1 March 1949. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
in 1972, majoring in History. Initially he became a teacher at the Goon Institute in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
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, coordinates =
, su ...
, and then at Maktab Adabi in
Kuantan
Kuantan ( Jawi: ) is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the 18th largest city in Malaysia based on 2010 population, and the largest city in the East Coast of Penin ...
. In the same year as his graduation, he was elected Secretary of Petaling Branch of
Malaysian Indian Congress
The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC; ta, மலேசிய இந்திய காங்கிரஸ், Malēciya Intiya Kāṅkiras; formerly known as Malayan Indian Congress) is a Malaysian political party. It is one of the founding membe ...
(MIC), a political party which is part of the ruling coalition. He has been with the party since 1968.
He moved on to become a research assistant at the
Muzium Negara
The National Museum ( ms, Muzium Negara) is a museum located on Jalan Damansara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The museum is situated in close proximity to the Perdana Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, Lake Gardens and it provides an overview of Malay ...
(National Museum). In 1974, he went back to
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
to join the Consumer Association of Penang. There he rose to the position of executive director. His next career move was to join
Bernama
The Malaysian National News Agency ( ms, Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia), is a news agency of the government of Malaysia. It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. Bernama (usually stylized in all caps) ...
as a journalist in 1977. There he was elevated to become the economic news editor. It was during this period he was invited to become a press secretary to the Minister of Works who was (and is) also the President of MIC. That set the stage for the crucial take-off in his political career. He was chosen as a candidate in the country's general elections in 1990 and had won every single election as a member of parliament ever since until his loss in the 8 March 2008 elections when a tidal wave of voter sentiment against the ruling coalition came to the fore that resulted in the loss of four states out of thirteen to the opposition and in the loss of two-thirds majority in the Parliament.
Positions in the government commenced with Palanivel being appointed as the parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of National Unity. He rose further to become the deputy minister of Rural Development of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
from 1999 until 2004 when he was made the deputy minister of Welfare and Family Development. He continued as the deputy minister until his defeat in the March 2008 general elections.
Palanivel also had a stint in the corporate circle as a business adviser to Sports Toto and as director of Telecoms Malaysia, Usha Martin and the Maharaja Network of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
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Palanivel married Kanagam Palanivel and the couple has four sons.
Political future
In June 2006, Palanivel, previously a vice-president of
MIC, entered a new era of top level MIC leadership by defeating a 27-year incumbent,
Dato'
Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin.
Origin
The oldes ...
S Subramaniam, to become the new deputy president of MIC. He retained his position in the MIC elections concluded on 12 September 2009. Palanivel, was appointed MIC president to replace S Samy Vellu on 6 December 2010.
Palanivel's position hitherto has been a Deputy Minister from 1999 until March 2008 when he failed to secure his parliamentary seat in the 2008 elections.
Following the massive defeat of MIC representatives in the 2008 general elections, MIC's top leadership is conspicuously absent in the cabinet of the ruling coalition,
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
that is made up of largely race based parties dominated by the Malay-based
UMNO
The United Malays National Organisation ( Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its ...
. It is the more junior members of MIC leadership who won in the General Elections who hold one ministerial and two deputy ministerial posts allocated for the party. Moreover, in the April 2009 new government line-up, MIC's representation had been reduced.
Although the
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
coalition won the 2008 general elections, it lost its previous eminent of position of securing parliamentary seats exceeding two-thirds majority. In the same elections, serious gains including capturing of five states out the total of thirteen have been made by the alternative coalition, Pakatan Rakyat.
On 3 May 2010, G Palanivel was appointed as a Senator in the
Parliament Upper House.
Palanivel returned to the federal cabinet portfolio and was appointed Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities after a minor Cabinet reshuffle on 4 June 2010.
On 6 December 2010, G Palanivel was appointed as the 8th MIC President succeeding Samy Vellu who had held the post for 31 years.
On 5 May 2013, G Palanivel won the Cameron Highlands Parliament seat in the
13th Malaysian General Election. The Malaysian Indian Congress won 4 (Cameron Highlands, Segamat, Hulu Selangor, Tapah) Parliament seats in total and 5 (Gambir, Kahang, Tenggaroh, Gadek, Jeram Padang) State seats, an extra seat compared to the previous election in Malaysia. He was then appointed as Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.
On 3 July 2013, G Palanivel said that MIC was against the controversial bill which allows unilateral conversion of child below 18 years old into Islam.
On 5 July 2013, G Palanivel commented "It was a fair move taking into consideration the sensitivities of various stakeholders and groups. MIC still stands by its statement that the consent of both parents are needed for the conversion of children to Islam," after the controversial bill on conversion of minors was withdrawn by the Malaysian ruling government Barisan Nasional.
Election results
Honours
* :
**
![MY-SEL_Order_of_Sultan_Salahuddin_Abdul_Aziz_Shah_-_Knight_Companion_-_DSSA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/MY-SEL_Order_of_Sultan_Salahuddin_Abdul_Aziz_Shah_-_Knight_Companion_-_DSSA.svg)
Knight Companion of the
Order of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
(DSSA) — Dato’ (1996)
* :
**
![MY-FED_Darjah_Mahkota_Wilayah_-_Grand_Commander_-_SMW](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/MY-FED_Darjah_Mahkota_Wilayah_-_Grand_Commander_-_SMW.svg)
Grand Commander of the
Order of the Territorial Crown
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
(SMW) — Datuk Seri (2012)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palanivel, G.
1949 births
Living people
People from Penang
Malaysian people of Tamil descent
Malaysian Hindus
Malaysian politicians of Tamil descent
Malaysian politicians of Indian descent
Presidents of Malaysian Indian Congress
Independent politicians in Malaysia
Members of the Dewan Negara
Members of the Dewan Rakyat
Government ministers of Malaysia
University of Malaya alumni
21st-century Malaysian politicians