KUALA LUMPUR – Former MIC president, Datuk Seri G. Palanivel died at Hospital Kuala Lumpur this morning.
He was 76-years-old.
MIC Vice President Datuk T. Murugiah told Bernama that he passed away at 8am.
Palanivel, who was previously the MP for Cameron Highlands, joined MIC in 1968. He was also a former journalist, having headed Bernama’s Economic Desk.
He assumed the role of party leader in 2010 after Tun S. Samy Vellu, who had been president for 31 years, stepped down. He was also once Samy Vellu’s press secretary and later succeeded him as president of MIC.
Hailing from Penang, Palanivel served as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department from Aug 2011 until May 2013, and later as the minister for natural resources and environment from May 2013 to July 2015.
He also held several deputy minister roles in various ministries, including rural development from 1999 to 2004, women, family and community development from 2004 to 2009, and plantation industries and commodities from 2009 to 2011.
In addition to his tenure as the Cameron Highlands MP from 2013 to 2018, he was the MP for Hulu Selangor from 1990 to 2008.
His membership in MIC ended in 2015 when he took a leadership dispute with the then deputy president, Datuk Seri Dr. S Subramaniam, to court.
The wake will be held tomorrow from 9am to 9pm at No 3, Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar and the funeral will be held on Thursday at 1.30pm. – June 17, 2025