Indian Community Welcomes Additional Full Cabinet Minister
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- The Indian community in Malaysia has gained another full minister in the MADANI Government lineup following the appointment of Datuk Seri R. Ramanan as the new Human Resources Minister in the Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.
Ramanan's appointment means the Indian community is now represented by two full ministers in the Cabinet, including Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, who was retained in this Cabinet reshuffle.
Ramanan replaces Steven Sim Chee Keong, who has been transferred to head the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives.
Additionally, Segamat Member of Parliament (MP) R. Yuneswaran was also appointed as Deputy National Unity Minister, replacing Senator Saraswathy Kandasami, while the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), M. Kulasegaran, has been maintained.
Gobind, who was previously the DAP MP for Damansara, rejoined the Cabinet when he was appointed as the Digital Minister in the Unity Government Cabinet announced in December 2023.
Ramanan, 44, previously served as the Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister since December 2023 before being appointed as a full minister in the latest Cabinet reshuffle.
The Sungai Buloh MP caused a surprise in the 15th General Election when he defeated former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin by a majority of 2,693 votes in a seven-way contest.
Born on Feb 11, 1981, Ramanan is the grandson of Tan Sri Devaki Krishnan, a respected Indian political figure and the first woman to hold a public office in Malaya before independence, after being elected as a member of the Bangsar Municipal Council in 1952.
The current developments also bring to mind previous eras of administration when the Indian community was once represented by two full ministers in the Cabinet.
At that time, MIC had two full ministers, namely the late Datuk Seri G. Palanivel as the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam as Health Minister
--BERNAMA
