MIC to get MB’s Special Officer position or Speaker of the State Assembly?
SEREMBAN: Following the conclusion of the Negeri Sembilan state election on August 1, questions have emerged regarding Indian representation in the newly formed state government. With the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) failing to secure victory in the two seats it contested under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance, no Indian state assemblymen representing BN or PN won. Of the 3 Indian state assemblymen who won, 2 were from DAP while one was from PKR.
The Indian candidates fielded under the banner of PN also failed to win.
During the previous term, two Indian members, both from DAP, served as Executive Council members in Negeri Sembilan. They were J.Arul Kumar and S.Veerapan. Arul won in Nilai again, but Veerapan failed to win the Repah seat.
The current lack of direct Indian representation in the state cabinet has raised concerns over who will represent the Indian community and address its issues within the state administration.
Potential Appointments for MIC
Speculation is mounting that MIC may be offered one of two key administrative positions:
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State Legislative Assembly Speaker or Deputy Speaker
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Special Officer to the Menteri Besar overseeing Indian affairs in the state.
An Indian appointment to the position of State Legislative Assembly Speaker would not be unprecedented. In 2008, V. Sivakumar was appointed Speaker of the Perak State Legislative Assembly under the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Following subsequent political shifts in Perak, MIC’s Datuk Seri S.K. Devamany and later lawyer Madam S. Thangeswari served as Perak State Assembly Speakers under the Barisan Nasional government. In Negeri Sembilan itself, Port Dickson Assemblyman M. Ravi previously served as the Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly from July 2018 to July 2023.
To be appointed as the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Negeri Sembilan state assembly, one need not be a state assemblyman.
If the Assembly Speaker or Deputy Speaker position is not allocated to MIC, the state government is expected to appoint an Indian representative as a Special Officer to the Menteri Besar. A similar model was adopted in Perak in 2013, when former Perak MIC Chairman Datuk V. Elango was appointed as Special Officer to the Menteri Besar to oversee Indian community affairs after MIC won no state seats in Perak that year.
Newly sworn-in Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Ismail Lasim recently met (pic) MIC President Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran, and Deputy President Datuk Seri M. Saravanan at his office to discuss the appointments for the Indian representative in the state. It is believed that MIC President Vigneswaran had submitted a shortlist of prospective candidates for these roles.
Political observers await the upcoming sitting of the State Legislative Assembly, when appointments for the Speaker and key administrative advisory roles are expected to be finalised.
