KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — After more than a month after being excluded from contesting in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election, MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel has been given a new lease of life with his appointment as Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle today.
Palanivel, who has been named as the successor after MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s proposed departure from active politics in September 2011, thanked both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Samy Vellu for the appointment.“I want to thank the Prime Minister for including me in the Cabinet reshuffle. I also want to thank Datuk Seri Samy Vellu for the experience and expertise rendered to me,” he said when contacted today.A former journalist with Bernama and press secretary to Samy Vellu, Palanivel (picture) made his debut in the 1990 general election by winning the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat and defended it for four terms before losing in the 2008 election.He had previously served as deputy minister in the Rural Development Ministry and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.
When the Hulu Selangor seat became vacant, Samy Vellu proposed his name but it was rejected by the Barisan Nasional leadership which then fielded MIC information chief P. Kamalanathan as the BN candidate for the April 25 election.Palanivel was made a senator last month.While the Cabinet reshuffle continued Palanivel’s political career, it was also a new beginning for People’s Progressive Party (PPP) senior vice-president Senator Datuk Maglin Dennis D’Cruz who was made Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister.PPP had previously asked Najib to drop its sacked supreme council member Datuk T. Murugiah, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.But instead, Murugiah was retained while the Kuala Lumpur-born Maglin was appointed.“I thank the party president for nominating me and the prime minister for appointing me as a senator and into the Cabinet. I am very happy with the appointment into an important ministry,” he said.The Klang-based businessman, who is involved in the shipping industry, said he joined the party in 1996 and became a vice-president in 1998.
Source : Bernama
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