V. Manickavasagam Pillai (; 4 October 1926 – 12 October 1979) was a Malaysian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as Minister of Communications. He was a member and served as 6th President of the

Malaysian Indian Congress The Malaysian Indian Congress ( abbrev: MIC; )，formerly known as Malayan Indian Congress, is a Malaysian political party. It is one of the founding members of the coalition Barisan Nasional, previously known as the Alliance, which was in pow ...

(MIC), a component party of the ruling

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

(BN) coalition from June 1973 to his death in October 1979.

President of MIC

Manickavasagam became president of MIC as a result of increased resistance of the grassroot members to Tun V.T. Sambanthan's style of leadership, who had been president of the party for 18 years. Under Manickavasagam's leadership, the MIC was put on a strong footing with buildings, offices and staff in various parts of the country and the party system organised and its capacity to deal with issues enhanced. It was during this period that the MIC, as member of the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

, became part of the

. The party sponsored the Nesa Multipurpose Cooperative and the MIC Unit Trust as part of its programme for economic ventures, and also set up the MIC Education Fund for members' children and the Malaysian Indian Scholarship Fund for higher education as well as acquiring an Institute for training Indians in technical and trade skills.

Blue Book

Manickavasagam had a vision for the

Malaysian Indian Indo-Malaysians are Malaysian of South Asian ancestry. Most are descendants of those who migrated from India to British Malaya from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. Most Malaysian Indians are ethnic Tamils; smaller groups include the ...

community. He organised the First Indian Economic Seminar and as a result the ''Blue Book'' came about. It was a development plan for the economic growth of the Indian community. The Blue Book was an orchestrated effort of a think-tank of top Indian business, political and education leaders collaborating to augment the future of the

community. Maika Holdings and Maju Institute of Education and Development (MIED) and others are a direct result of the Blue Book.
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Infusing new blood

When Manickavasagam became president of the

, he decided to introduce new faces to the party in leadership positions. This was the time when S. Subramaniam, K. Pathmanaban, a Harvard MBA holder, and several others entered the political arena to infuse new blood into MIC, and Manickavasagam gave them preference. They were young, well-educated and ambitious but lacked grassroots experience. This made S. Samy Vellu, who was then MIC vice-president, bitter as he felt he was being sidelined. Samy Vellu was one of the five leaders who dared defy former president V.T. Sambanthan and propel Manickavasagam to the presidency of the party. Subramaniam, then the secretary general of MIC, was hand-picked by Manickavasagam to become deputy president and succeed him. However, Samy Vellu fought back, literally, and in the 1977 party elections he managed to beat Subramaniam by a mere 26 votes to become the Deputy President of MIC.

Death

Manickavasagam died in 1979 while still in office. His deputy, S. Samy Vellu was made acting president of MIC and remained president until 6 December 2010.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Companion of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace of God-Defender of the Realm). The o ...

(JMN) (1958) * : ** Malaysian_Commemorative_Medal_ribbon

Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965) ** Commander of the

(PMN) – Tan Sri (1970) * : ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Grand Commander - SPMS

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Selangor The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Selangor (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Selangor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an order awarded by Sultan of Selangor as a reward for general services to the sultan and state of Selangor. It was foun ...

(SPMS) – Dato' Seri (1970)

References

Malaysiakini.com - Samy Vellu and the Blue Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manickavasagam, V. 1926 births 1979 deaths People from Selangor Malaysian Hindus Malaysian politicians of Tamil descent Malaysian politicians of Indian descent Presidents of Malaysian Indian Congress Government ministers of Malaysia Ministers of transport of Malaysia Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor Malaysian Indian Congress politicians Malaysian MPs 1959–1964 Malaysian MPs 1964–1969 Malaysian MPs 1971–1974 Malaysian MPs 1974–1978 Malaysian MPs 1978–1982