Karnail Singh Nijhar ( pa, ਕਰਨੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇਜਾਰ, Karanaila Sigha Nējāra; 2 July 1936 – 15 June 2021) was a Malaysian politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Subang from November 1999 to March 2008 and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry from 1989 to 1991. He was a member and had served as Vice-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 (BN) coalition.

Early life and education

Nijhar was born in Pengkalan Hulu,

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

, on 2 July 1936, on a bullock cart somewhere between Kroh and Kelian Intan in Perak. His father, Amar Singh, an immigrant from Punjab, came to the

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in 1926 as a labourer in Rahman Hydraulic Tin Mine. Growing up, Nijhar had to stay in a ''

kampung A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used t ...

'' house without any basic amenities and had to depend on wells for water and Hindu temples for free meals because of poverty. He never owned a pair of shoes as a kid and was illiterate until the age of nine. While a student at St Xavier's Institution 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 ...

, he earned money as a ball boy at clubs with tennis courts. He continued to excel at school however, and between 1947 and 1954 received high scores on examinations.

Early career

Before he joined politics as a MIC member in 1974, he was a lecturer in economics at the University of Malaya and one out of only two Indians with a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in economics in Malaysia at the time. The Malaysian government sought his help for various initiatives during his early years as an academic, such as for the development of "academic staff salaries for Malaysian universities" for the Justice Harun Hashim Commission. Arshad Ayub, director of

Institut Teknologi Mara The MARA Technological University (Malay: ''Universiti Teknologi MARA''; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي تيكنولوڬي مارا; abbr. UiTM) is a public university based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to help rural Mala ...

(now UiTM), had engaged him as a part-time lecturer and to help develop the curriculum for the school of business administration.

Politics

Nijhar was the highest-ranking

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

in the MIC ever, since MIC President

V. T. Sambanthan Tun Thirunyanasambanthan s/o Veerasamy ( ta, திருஞானசம்பந்தன், Tiruñāṉacampantaṉ; 16 June 1919 – 18 May 1979) also known as V.T. Sambanthan, was a Malayan and Malaysian politician who served as Ministe ...

's time in 1955, to hold any national-level portfolios in the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-dominated party even as a Punjabi Sikh who spoke no Tamil. He was also one of seven MPs from the MIC, causing him to be a minority within a minority. In 1980, began to be a close confidante of then MIC President

Samy Velu Tun Samy Vellu s/o Sangalimuthu ( ta, சாமிவேலு சங்கிலிமுத்து, Cāmivēlu Caṅkilimuttu; 8 March 1936 – 15 September 2022) was a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Works from June 1983 ...

, he was appointed by as Chairman of the Economic Bureau and Education Bureau of MIC where he had contributed setting-up the MIC's educational arm, Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED). In 1981, he started to gain stature within the MIC, first as a central working committee (CWC) member and later as treasurer-general for nine years, secretary-general for four years, and vice-president for nine years. He was appointed a

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 ...

in 1985, the first time MIC nominated a Punjabi Sikh for the

Senate 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 ...

and the second Punjabi Sikh in Malaysia's history to sit in the Senate, after Senator Paramjit Singh, president of People’s Progressive Party (PPP). He was re-appointed again for the second-term Senatorship in 1988. Around this times, he was appointed parliamentary secretary to the ministry of trade and industry during which time he also served as a member of the first National Economic Consultative Council. In the

1999 Malaysian general election A general election was held on Monday, 29 November 1999 for members of the 10th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 193 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant ...

, he joined

Karpal Singh Dato' Seri Utama Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh Deo ( pa, ਕਰਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ, Karpāl Siṅgh; 28 June 1940 – 17 April 2014) was an Indian Malaysian politician and lawyer. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bu ...

of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) to be one of two Punjabi Sikhs elected in the Parliament. While as an MP, he sat on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on National Integration, where he aimed to represent

Malays Malays may refer to: * Malay race, a racial category encompassing peoples of Southeast Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands ** Overseas Malays, people of Malay race ancestry living outside Malay archipelago home areas ** Cape Malays, a communit ...

and

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

in Subang and the country. In 2005, he questioned the validity of a memorandum of the

DAP DAP or Dap may refer to: Science * DAP (gene), human gene that encodes death-associated proteins, which mediate programmed cell death * Diamidophosphate, phosphorylating compound * Diaminopimelic acid, amino acid derivative of lysine * Diamin ...

Johor State Committee, suggesting that it didn't take into account the view of Malay and Indian communities, and criticized the

. He won the parliamentary seat of Subang in Selangor twice in 1999 general election and 2004 general election before he was dropped as a candidate for the 2008 general election, where the BN candidate replacement for the constituency, S. Murugeson was defeated by the candidate from People's Justice Party (PKR),

Sivarasa Rasiah Sivarasa a/l Rasiah ( ta, சிவராசா ராசையா, Civarācā rācaiyā; born 8 December 1956), or also known as R. Sivarasa is a Malaysian politician, lawyer and human rights activist of Ceylonese and Sri Lankan descent w ...

. Nijhar had resigned as MIC Vice-President following an earlier heated row with party chief

Samy Vellu Tun Samy Vellu s/o Sangalimuthu ( ta, சாமிவேலு சங்கிலிமுத்து, Cāmivēlu Caṅkilimuttu; 8 March 1936 – 15 September 2022) was a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Works from June 1983 ...

in 2008. His last position held in CWC, was the MIC Discipline Committee after being replaced by the new MIC President

G. Palanivel Datuk Seri Palanivel s/o K. Govindasamy ( ta, பழனிவேல் கோவிந்தசாமி, Paḻaṉivēl kōvintacāmi; born 1 March 1949), commonly known as G Palanivel is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Natu ...

in 2015.

Business

Nijhar left politics at 72. He had run with his son, Rabin a security company, Cisco (M) Sdn Bhd which he acquired in 1979.

Personal life

Nijhar had married lecturer Molina Sinha Nijhar. The couple has a daughter Premeeta Singh Nijhar and son Rabinder Singh Nijhar.

Death

Nijhar died at the age of 85 at 8.00 pm on 15 June 2021 after having a critical stroke. His final rites were performed along with a service held among close family members at his home in Bukit Pantai, followed by cremation at Xiao En Memorial Park in Nilai the next day. Nijhar is survived by his wife, two children and five grandchildren.

Election Results

Note: ¹

Mohd Nasir Hashim Dr. Mohd Nasir bin Hashim ( Jawi: محمد ناصر بن هشيم; born 1947) is a Malaysian democratic socialist politician and former president of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM). He was also the State Assemblyman for Kota Damansara ...

amid contesting under the PKR ticket in the 2004 election, is a member of

PSM PSM, an acronym, may refer to: Organizations * Sepaktakraw Association of Malaysia ( ms, Persatuan Sepaktakraw Malaysia; PSM), a national governing body in Malaysia. * Pakistan School Muscat, a Pakistani co-educational institute in Oman * Palest ...

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Companion of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (JMN) (1980) **

Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on ...

(PSM) – Tan Sri (1997) * : ** Order of the Crown of Johor ribbon bar

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato'

Bibliography

In June 2016, he released an autobiography narrated to his daughter Premeeta, titled "The Bullock Cart Boy". * ''The Bullock Cart Boy'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nijhar, K. S. 1936 births 2021 deaths People from Perak Malaysian politicians of Indian descent Malaysian people of Punjabi descent Malaysian Sikhs Malaysian economists Academic staff of the University of Malaya Malaysian Indian Congress politicians Members of the Dewan Rakyat Members of the Dewan Negara University of Malaya alumni Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm 20th-century Malaysian politicians 21st-century Malaysian politicians