Subramaniam s/o Sinniah ( ta, சி. சுப்ரமணியம், Ci. Cupramaṇiyam; 6 October 1944 – 5 July 2022), or S. Subramaniam as he was known to his supporters, was a Malaysian
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 ...
of Indian origin who was a member 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. He served as the Deputy President of MIC from October 1979 to June 2006. He was the longest-serving officeholder by serving for 27 years. He served as
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
The Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living is a non-Cabinet of Malaysia, Malaysian cabinet position serving as deputy head of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living (Malaysia), Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of ...
from 1995 to 2004,
Parliamentary Secretary of International Trade and Industry from 1991 to 1995 and
Parliamentary Secretary of Labour and Manpower from 1974 to 1978 in the BN administration under former Prime Ministers
Hussein Onn
Tun Hussein bin Dato' Onn ( ms, حسين بن عون, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 12 February 1922 – 29 May 1990) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia from the death of his predece ...
,
Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
and
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...
as well as the
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
Segamat
Segamat ( Jawi: سڬامت Chinese: 昔加末) is a town located in the Segamat District, Johor, Malaysia. It is 95 km travel distance via North–South Expressway from Johor Bahru to Yong Peng, and another 77 km from Federal Route 1.
Strate ...
from 1982 to 2004 and
Damansara from 1974 to 1982.
Political history
When
V. Manickavasagam
V. Manickavasagam ( ta, மாணிக்கவாசகம் பிள்ளை, Māṇikkavācakam piḷḷai; 4 October 1926 – 12 October 1979) was a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Communications. He was a member and s ...
became 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 ...
, he decided to introduce new faces to the party in leadership positions. This was the time when Subramaniam,
K. Pathmanaban, 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 presidency 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 for not to be in good terms with MIC's president,
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 ...
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, 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) organised a rally on 25 November 2007 in Kuala Lumpur demanding 18 points to prevent further discrimination against ethnic Indians, who had been marginalised 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 loss. According to Australian political analyst, the Indian community did not reject Malaysian Indian congress but only Samy Vellu and his cronies. 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 attempts against Dato Subra have been deflected. It is also predicted that 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 started a blog to communicate with all Indians from all backgrounds. The blog can be found on https://web.archive.org/web/20090817134714/http://datosubra.com/. For 2009 MIC deputy presidency election likely to be held on 12 September 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
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 ...
and
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social democratic political party in Malaysia. ...
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
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
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 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. Subramaniam then lodged a police report.
Declining health and death
On 5 July 2022, Subramaniam died at 8 pm night at the age of 77 leaving behind his wife Suganthi Guru@Tina Subramaniam, two sons and a daughter. His funeral service was held two days later on 7 July 2022 at his family home in
Petaling Jaya
)
, website =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling J ...
,
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
. According to his son Sunther, Subramaniam died peacefully in his sleep after having been bedridden for 11 years of declining health after suffering a stroke.
Election results
Honours
Honours of Malaysia
* :
** Medal of the
Order of the Defender of the Realm
The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...
(PPN) (1981)
** 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 (2012)
* :
**
![Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar.png)
Companion of the
Order of the Crown of Johor
The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor (Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886.
It is awarded in three classes:
*Knight Grand Com ...
(SMJ) (1983)
**
![Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar.png)
Knight Commander of the
Order of the Crown of Johor
The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor (Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886.
It is awarded in three classes:
*Knight Grand Com ...
(DPMJ) – Dato' (1989)
* :
**
![MY-NEG Order of Loyalty to Negeri Sembilan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/MY-NEG_Order_of_Loyalty_to_Negeri_Sembilan.svg)
Knight Companion of the
Order of Loyalty to Negeri Sembilan
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 ...
(DSNS) – Dato' (1985)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinniah, Subramaniam
1944 births
2022 deaths
Malaysian Hindus
Malaysian people of Indian descent
Malaysian politicians of Tamil descent
Malaysian Indian Congress politicians
Members of the Dewan Negara
Members of the Dewan Rakyat
Medallists of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor