Manikavasagam Sundram

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Manikavasagam Sundram

| honorific-suffix =

| native_name = {{nobold|மாணிக்கவாசகம் சுந்தரம்}}

| native_name_lang = Tamil

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = Manikavasagam s/o Sundram

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|06|27|df=y}}

| birth_place = Selangor, Malaysia

| residence =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| office = Vice President of the Parti Rakyat Malaysia

| term_start = 2 March 2024

| term_end =

| alongside = Tan Chow Kang & Sarah Afiqah Zainol Ariff

| president = Rohana Ariffin

| constituency_MP1 = Kapar

| parliament1 = Malaysian

| term_start1 = 8 March 2008

| term_end1 = 5 May 2013

| predecessor1 = Komala Devi M Perumal
(BN–MIC)

| successor1 = Manivannan Gowindasamy
(PR–PKR)

| majority1 = 12,297 (2008)

| party = Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)
{{small|(1999–2000, since 2018)}}
People's Justice Party (PKR)
{{small|(2000–2018)}}

| otherparty = Barisan Alternatif (BA)
{{small|(1999–2004)}}
Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
{{small|(2008–2015)}}
Pakatan Harapan (PH)
{{small|(2015–2018)}}

| religion =

| majority =

| relations =

| spouse =

| children =

| website =

| footnotes =

| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|social activist}}

}}

Manikavasagam s/o Sundram (Tamil: சு. மாணிக்கவாசகம்) (born 27 June 1965{{cite web|url=http://www.mpkapar.com/manikavasagam/yb-manikavasagam/|title=YB Manikavasagam|publisher=S. Manikavasagam: official blog|access-date=16 January 2010}}) is a Malaysian politician and social activist who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kapar from March 2008 to May 2013. He is a member of the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), a component party of formerly Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalition and was a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and BA coalitions. He has served as the Vice President of PRM since March 2024.

Political career

Manikavasagam was elected to Parliament in the 2008 election, winning the seat of Kapar, previously held by the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.{{Cite web

| title = Malaysia Decides 2008

| work = The Star (Malaysia)

| url = http://thestar.com.my/election/

| access-date = 17 January 2010}} Before his election, Manikavasagam was a prominent leader in the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF).{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23194448|title=Malaysian police break up ethnic Indian rally|date=16 February 2008|work=NBC News|access-date=16 January 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Feb16/0,4670,MalaysiaIndianUnrest,00.html|title=Malaysian Police Break Up Indian Rally|date=16 February 2008|publisher=Fox News|access-date=16 January 2010 | first=Julia | last=Zappei}}

In December 2008, Manikavasagam announced he would leave PKR, citing disappointment with the party's leadership in Selangor.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/31/nation/20081231155855|title=Manikavasagam holds off on quit decision (updated)|date=31 December 2008|work=The Star|access-date=16 January 2010}} He eventually resigned from a leadership position within PKR, but not from the party itself.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/1/nation/2926022&sec=nation|title=Kapar MP quits party post|last=Goh|first=Lisa|date=1 January 2009|work=The Star|access-date=16 January 2010}}

In June 2009, an arrest warrant was issued for Manikavasagam after he allegedly refused to respond to a subpoena to testify at an inquest into the death of an actress.{{cite news|url=http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=34956|title=Arrest warrant issued against Kapar MP Manikavasagam|date=23 June 2009|publisher=The Sun (Malaysia)|access-date=16 January 2010}} Manikavasagam applied to have the warrant set aside,{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/24/nation/20090624114439&sec=nation|title=Manikavasagam applies to set aside arrest order (Update)|last=Goh|first=Lisa|date=24 June 2009|work=The Star|access-date=16 January 2010}} and eventually testified at the inquest.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/9/nation/20090709195120&sec=nation|title=Kapar MP: Vell Paari behaved as if he lost his wife at Sujata's funeral|last=Hamdan|first=Nurbaiti|date=9 July 2009|work=The Star|access-date=16 January 2010}} Less than two weeks later, he was arrested over an unrelated public demonstration.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/17/nation/20090717111031&sec=nation|title=Seven arrested outside MACC office, all later released (Update)|last=Rajendra|first=Edward|date=17 July 2009|work=The Star|access-date=16 January 2010}}

PKR did not renominate Manikavasagam to defend his Kapar parliamentary seat in the 2013 election. He contested the Selangor State Legislative Assembly seat of Bukit Melawati instead, losing to a United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) candidate. In 2014 he was suspended from PKR for making allegations of "money politics" against the Selangor Chief Minister Khalid Ibrahim. After the lifting of his suspension, he challenged Khalid for the leadership for the Selangor division of PKR, and won, part of a series of events culminating in Khalid's downfall as Chief Minister later in the year.{{cite news|url=http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/06/26/khalid-defeated-pkr-division-polls/|title=Khalid defeated in PKR division polls|date=26 June 2014|work=The Rakyat Post|access-date=17 October 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pkr-names-three-new-faces-for-selangor-contest|title=PKR names three new faces for Selangor contest|last=Syed Jaymal Zahiid|date=15 April 2013|work=The Malaysian Insider|access-date=17 October 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/suspended-pkr-member-begs-party-to-allow-him-to-take-on-khalid-in-polls|title=Suspended PKR member begs party to allow him to take on Khalid in polls|last=Jamilah Kamarudin|date=16 May 2014|work=The Malaysian Insider|access-date=17 October 2014}}

On 7 April 2018, he announced that he has rejoined Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), a party which he first joined in 1999 before leaving for PKR in 2000. He also contested for the Kapar parliamentary seat and Meru state seat in the 2018 election under PRM ticket but lost both.{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/prm-announces-candidates-for-15-parliamentary-state-seats-in-selangor|title=PRM announces candidates for 15 parliamentary, state seats in Selangor|date=7 April 2018|work=Bernama |publisher=The Malay Mail|access-date=21 April 2018}}{{cite news|url=http://www.mstar.com.my/berita/berita-semasa/2018/04/08/manikavasagam-kembali-ke-prm/|title=Keluar PKR, bekas MP Kapar kembali ke PRM|date=8 April 2018|work=The Star |publisher=mStar|language=ms |access-date=21 April 2018}}

Election results

class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"

|+ Selangor State Legislative Assembly{{Cite web

| title = 2013 Malaysia General Election SELANGOR N10 Bukit Melawati

| publisher =Election Commission of Malaysia

| url = http://resultpru13.spr.gov.my/module/keputusan/paparan/5_KeputusanDUN.php?kod=09610

| access-date = 5 June 2016}} Results only available for the 2013 election.{{cite web|url=http://resultpru13.spr.gov.my/module/keputusan/paparan/paparan_laporan.php|title=Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum 13 Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri 2013|publisher=Election Commission of Malaysia|access-date=8 May 2016}}{{Cite web

| title = Malaysia General Election

| work = undiinfo Malaysian Election Data

| publisher = Malaysiakini

| url = http://undi.info/#

| access-date = 4 February 2017}} Results only available from the 2004 election.{{cite web|url=https://keputusan.spr.gov.my/|title=SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14|publisher=Election Commission of Malaysia |language=ms|access-date=17 May 2018}} Percentage figures based on total turnout.{{cite web|url=https://election.thestar.com.my/|title=The Star Online GE14|work=The Star|access-date=24 May 2018}} Percentage figures based on total turnout.

!|Year

!|Constituency

!colspan=2|Candidate

!|Votes

!|Pct

!colspan=2|Opponent(s)

!|Votes

!|Pct

!|Ballots cast

!|Majority

!|Turnout

2013

|N10 Bukit Melawati

|{{Party shading/Keadilan}} |

|{{nowrap|Manikavasagam Sundram}} (PKR)

|align="right" |6,490

|45.99%

|{{Party shading/Barisan Nasional}} |

|{{nowrap|Jakiran Jacomah}} (UMNO)

|align="right" |7,296

|51.70%

|14,113

|806

|87.60%

rowspan=4|2018

|rowspan=4|N42 Meru

|rowspan=4 bgcolor="{{Party color|Parti Rakyat Malaysia}}" |

|rowspan=4|Manikavasagam Sundram (PRM)

|rowspan=4 align=right|346

|rowspan=4 align=right|1.02%

|{{Party shading/Keadilan}} |

|{{nowrap|Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar}} (AMANAH)

|align="right" |17,665

|52.04%

|rowspan=4|34,448

|rowspan=4|9,608

|rowspan=4|88.12%

{{Party shading/Barisan Nasional}} |

|Khairul Anuar Saimun (UMNO)

|align="right" |8,057

|23.74%

{{Party shading/PAS}} |

|Noor Najhan Mohd Salleh (PAS)

|align="right" |7,804

|22.99%

{{Party shading/Independent}} |

|Shee Chee Weng (IND)

|align="right" |72

|align="right" |0.21%

class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"

|+ Parliament of Malaysia{{cite web|url=http://semak.spr.gov.my/spr/laporan/5_KedudukanAkhir.php|title=Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri|publisher=Election Commission of Malaysia|access-date=19 June 2010}} Percentage figures based on total turnout.

!|Year

!|Constituency

!colspan=2|Candidate

!|Votes

!|Pct

!colspan=2|Opponent(s)

!|Votes

!|Pct

!|Ballots cast

!|Majority

!|Turnout

2008