Palanivel The Quiet Steward Who Served With Steady Hands

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G Palanivel, the former MIC president and a long-serving cabinet member, passed away yesterday.
Palanivel, who was 75, leaves behind a legacy of public service spanning journalism, politics, and ministerial leadership across several decades.
Born in Penang in 1949, Palanivel began his professional life as a journalist, rising through the ranks to head the Economic Desk at Bernama.
His grounding in journalism sharpened his communication skills and prepared him for the world of politics, where he would spend most of his life.
He joined MIC in 1968, gradually working his way up within the party.
He was a trusted aide to S Samy Vellu, the party’s longest-serving president, and served as his press secretary - a role that placed him close to the centre of power and decision-making.
Those who worked with him often recall his calm demeanour, his preference for working behind the scenes, and his meticulous nature.
Even when Palanivel became party president, he would personally fine-tune press statements, sometimes spending hours editing what others considered trivial. His journalistic instincts never left him.
When asked why he didn’t delegate more, he reportedly said: "Words outlive us. Once spoken, they can’t be undone."
His style reflected a deeper truth about his personhood. Palanivel was a man who chose careful deliberation over political theatre.
His quiet, almost understated leadership approach stood in contrast to many of his contemporaries who thrived in the heat of public battles.
To him, leadership was not about grandstanding - it was about the quiet stewardship of responsibility.
Colleagues described him as a man of calm waters in stormy seas, a reluctant politician who led more out of duty than ambition.
He was rarely seen courting the limelight. Instead, he built his reputation through soft diplomacy and measured words, often believing that silence could be more powerful than slogans.
MIC leadership
After Samy Vellu’s retirement in 2010, Palanivel took over the MIC presidency, inheriting the challenge of leading the party in a new political landscape.
ADSHe became the eighth president of MIC at a time when the party was struggling to regain its footing following setbacks in the 2008 general election.
His leadership style was widely seen as measured and low-key. He was known for his preference for quiet negotiation over public confrontation.
One incident during a particularly tense MIC central working committee meeting in the early 2010s remains memorable to party insiders.
As tempers flared over constituency allocations, Palanivel quietly adjusted his glasses, leaned back, and remarked: "Shall we focus on solving, not shouting?"
The simple sentence broke the tension, drawing reluctant laughter and easing the mood.
Though a reluctant public speaker, Palanivel was an effective communicator on the ground.
Palanivel circa 2016During one election campaign in Cameron Highlands, his aides prepared a fiery speech filled with slogans and party rhetoric.
But when he stood before the crowd, Palanivel put aside the prepared text and chose to speak softly about local roads, schools, and water supply.
“People don’t need slogans. They need solutions," he later told his team.
Nevertheless, his tenure was marked by internal conflicts and a protracted leadership tussle that eventually culminated in his departure from the party in 2015.
The court later ruled in favour of his then-deputy, S Subramaniam, effectively ending Palanivel’s chapter in MIC.
His quiet exit mirrored the way he had led all along - with little fanfare and no dramatic fight. He bore the transition with a characteristic acceptance.
At one gathering in Hulu Selangor, an old supporter asked him why he was walking alone without his usual entourage. He reportedly smiled and replied, "It’s lighter this way. No baggage."
Government service
Throughout his political career, Palanivel served the nation in several key roles across a variety of ministries. His portfolio included:
Deputy rural development minister (1999–2004), where he worked on community development and rural infrastructure.
Deputy women, family and community development minister (2004–2009), contributing to family welfare and social policy.
Deputy plantation industries and commodities minister (2009–2011), supporting one of Malaysia’s key economic sectors.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (August 2011–May 2013), overseeing special functions and national-level initiatives.
Natural resources and environment minister (May 2013–July 2015), where he handled environmental policy and conservation matters.
As a MP, he served two constituencies - Hulu Selangor (1990–2008) and Cameron Highlands (2013–2018) - earning support from both urban and rural voters over the years.
Later years and legacy
The latter part of Palanivel’s political journey was defined by quiet retreat rather than continued rivalry.
He walked away from the party corridors where he once wielded influence, but never relinquished his discipline as a journalist at heart.
Even in his retirement, Palanivel would start his mornings by reading Bernama bulletins.
He often told younger politicians, "Before you speak, know the facts. Before you lead, read the headlines. The people can always tell the difference."
His personhood, according to those who knew him, was best summarised in his own leadership philosophy: to speak less was sometimes to serve more.
Palanivel is remembered as a peacemaker, a man who valued precision over performance, and a leader who believed in steady service rather than loud proclamations.
His contributions to Malaysian politics, MIC, and the Indian community remain part of his enduring legacy. _ Mkini
JOSEPH MASILAMANY is a veteran journalist and long-time observer of Malaysia’s socio-political landscape.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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