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New Straits Times

[UPDATED] Former MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel dies at 75

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president and federal minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel has died at the age of 76. He died at Kuala Lumpur Hospital at 8am today, according to confirmation from party sources. Palanivel was born March 1, 1949 in Penang. A veteran politician and long-serving member of the MIC, he became the party's eighth president on Dec 6, 2010, succeeding (the late) Tun S. Samy Vellu. His political journey began decades earlier, including serving as Samy Vellu's secretary in the early 1990s, before rising through the ranks. He served as the party's treasurer-general from 1991 to 1994, vice president from 1995 to 2005, deputy president from 2006 to 2010 and president from 2010 to 2015. Palanivel began his professional life as a broadcast journalist, working with RTM and Bernama. He joined Bernama as a journalist in 1977 and later became the economic news editor. Palanivel also held various ministerial positions and played a significant role in representing the Indian community in Malaysia's Barisan Nasional coalition. In his ministerial roles, he served as the Deputy Rural Development Minister from 1999 to 2004; Deputy Welfare and Family Development Minister (2004 to 2008); Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister (2008 to 2011); Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Indian Affairs (2011 to 2013) and as the Natural Resources and Environment Minister from 2013 to 2015. In his role as a member of parliament, Palanivel served the Hulu Selangor constituency for four terms until 2008, after winning the seat in the 1990 General Election. He also served as the Cameron Highlands MP from 2013 to 2018. His funeral is scheduled to take place on Thursday.