Xavier Jayakumar s/o Arulanandam ( ta, சேவியர் ஜெயக்குமார், Cēviyar Jeyakkumār; born 1953) 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 who served as Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources in the

Pakatan Harapan The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...

(PH) administration under former prime minister

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 ...

from July 2018, to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020, and

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

Kuala Langat The Kuala Langat District is a district of Selangor, Malaysia. It is situated in the southwestern part of Selangor. It covers an area of 858 square kilometres, and had a population of 307,787 at the 2020 Census (exclude foreign). It is bordered ...

from May 2018 to November 2022. He was also

Selangor State Executive Council The Selangor State Executive Council (''Malay: Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri Selangor'') is the executive authority of the Government of Selangor, Malaysia. The Council comprises the Menteri Besar, appointed by the Sultan on the basis that he i ...

lor (EXCO) from March 2008 to May 2013, and member of the

Selangor State Legislative Assembly The Selangor State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Negeri Selangor) is the unicameral state legislature of the Malaysian state of Selangor. The State Assembly is composed of 56 members representing single-member constituencies throughout the sta ...

(MLA) for Seri Andalas from March 2008 to May 2018. He was a former member and vice-president of the

People's Justice Party The People's Justice Party ( ms, Parti Keadilan Rakyat , often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR) is a reformist political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. The ...

(PKR), a component party of the PH opposition coalition.

Political career

Minister of Land, Water and Natural Resources

He had proposed to amend the National Land Code passed in 2014 which allows the ownership of land to foreign citizens and companies through Section 433B with the approval of the state government. On 1 May 2019, Xavier gave himself a rating of seven to eight out of 10 for his performance as the Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister in the Pakatan Harapan government, after being in the position for about a year. On 17 February 2021, a person he described as a fellow party member and "close family friend" was arrested with two others by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in relation to a contract awarded in 2019 under the jurisdiction of his ministry.

People's Justice Party and defection

He was the Vice President of PKR. In the

2018 Malaysian general election The 2018 Malaysian General Election, formally known as the 14th Malaysian General Election (), was held on Wednesday, 9 May 2018, for members of the 14th Parliament of Malaysia. At stake were all 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat (the legislature' ...

, he was appointed as the

Election Director for the Selangor state. On 13 March 2021, he suddenly announced that he resigned as both a member and as a party vice-president, citing that he was "extremely frustrated" by the events of the past year. Subsequently, he would become an Independent MP while declaring his full support to

Perikatan Nasional The National Alliance ( ms, Perikatan Nasional; abbrev: PN) is a political coalition composed of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). This coalition was pr ...

's leadership. On the same day, PKR Member of Parliament Sivarasa Rasiah claimed that Xavier defected due to pressure arising from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's investigation into a contract awarded in 2019 to several people including Xavier's "close family friend" during his tenure as minister.

Elections

He contested in the

2004 Malaysian general election A general election was held on Sunday, 21 March 2004 for members of the 11th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 219 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant ...

in the Ampang which saw him lose to

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 ...

candidate, Rozaidah Talib. After losing to grab the Parliamentary seat, he has contested in the Selangor State Assembly seat, Seri Andalas. Fate has sided with him and won the seat in the

2008 Malaysian general election A general election was held on Saturday, 8 March 2008 for members of the 12th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant ...

. After winning, he was appointed as a Member of the

. In the

2013 Malaysian general election General elections were held in Malaysia on Sunday, 5 May 2013 to elect the members of the 13th Parliament. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies, each electing one MP to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. ...

, he managed to defend the Seri Andalas seat in a 5-cornered contest.

Election results

Honours

Honour of Malaysia

* : **

My-KEL Order of the Life of the Crown of Kelantan 2006

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Life of the Crown of Kelantan 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 ...

(DJMK) – Dato' (2019)

References

{{Authority control Living people 1953 births Malaysian people of Indian descent Independent politicians in Malaysia Former People's Justice Party (Malaysia) politicians Members of the Dewan Rakyat Government ministers of Malaysia Selangor state executive councillors Members of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly 21st-century Malaysian politicians