Occupation Politician Name S. Manikavasagam | Role Member of Parliament Party People's Justice Party | |
Preceded by Komala Devi M Perumal (MIC – BN) Succeeded by G Manivannan Gowindasamy (PKR) Born 27 June 1965 (age 58)
Selangor, Malaysia ( 1965-06-27 ) Political party People's Justice Party (PKR) | ||
S Manikavasagam: I will do my utmost for the constituency
Manikavasagam Sundram (born 27 June 1965) was the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kapar constituency in Selangor from 2008 to 2013, as a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR) in the Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition.
Manikavasagam was elected to Parliament in the 2008 election, winning the seat of Kapar, previously held by the Barisan Nasional coalition. Before his election, Manikavasagam was a prominent leader in the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF).
In December 2008, Manikavasagam announced he would leave PKR, citing disappointment with the party's leadership in Selangor. He eventually resigned from a leadership position within PKR, but not from the party itself.
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. Manikavasagam applied to have the warrant set aside, and eventually testified at the inquest. Less than two weeks later, he was arrested over an unrelated public demonstration.
PKR did not renominate Manikavasagam for 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.