D. R. Seenivasagam

Darma Raja Seenivasagam (Tamil: தார்ம ராஜா சீனிவசகம்) (1925, Ipoh - 15 March 1969, Ipoh) was a prominent leader of the People's Progressive Party (Malaysia) (PPP) in Malaysia.

He founded the PPP (known as Perak Progressive Party until 1956) alongside his brother, Dato' Seri S. P. Seenivasagam in 1953 after they had split from the Labour Party of Malaya. They were both well-known lawyers in Malaya prior to forming the party.

As an MP representing Ipoh from 1957 until his death in 1969, he was a national figure in the early years after Malaya's independence due to his high-profile legal cases as well as PPP's electoral successes in Ipoh. His death at the age of 44 was to lead to downturn in the fortunes of the party he founded.

Public life

He was of Ceylonese Tamil ancestry and his father was a Ceylonese lawyer from Jaffna.

Starting as a lawyer for his father's firm S Seenivasagam & Sons, DR became widely known for defending a young Chinese girl named Lee Meng who was arrested for alleged militant communist activities during the Emergency.

Lee was captured by the British Malayan police force in Ipoh in July 1952 and tried for having a hand grenade in her possession.

She was sentenced to death for her responsibility in issuing orders for several murders.

Although DR did not win this case, his reputation as a lawyer was bolstered by the case.

His party PPP had its stronghold in Perak and it received a lot of support, especially from the ethnic Chinese voters.

In the 1954 elections, first in which PPP was participating, he was elected to the Town Council of Ipoh and Menglembu under the ‘Alliance’ ticket (UMNO, Malayan Chinese Association, Malayan Indian Congress). He lost to Leong Yew Koh of the Alliance in the 1955 Federal Elections when contesting the Ipoh-Menglembu seat.

However, he was elected in a by-election in 1957 to the same parliamentary seat which was vacated by Leong who had just been appointed to become Malacca's first Governor. He secured 5,911 votes to defeat the Alliance candidate Yap Yin Fah by 1,820 votes. He went on to win the redesignated Ipoh parliamentary seat in the 1959 and 1964 elections, comfortably defeating candidates from the Alliance and the Socialist Front in three-way contests.

In the parliamentary elections of 1959, the PPP won four seats in Perak, while in 1964 it won two. Furthermore in the 1962 local council elections held in Perak, PPP won 57 per cent of the votes and 112 of 150 seats contested in the Kinta District. The Alliance won only 27 seats, while 11 seats went to the Socialist Front.

In the early years after Merdeka, the three most prominent municipalities of the time were George Town, Ipoh and Malacca, and while the PPP held sway in Ipoh, the other two were won by the Socialist Front leading to the mayorship of D.S. Ramanathan and Hasnul Hadi.

While in the opposition, Seenivasagam lead the PPP to form the short-lived Malaysian Solidarity Council (MSC) in 1965 comprising multi-racial parties like the People's Action Party and the United Democratic Party.

At the MSC's first and only general meeting, several leaders from these parties gave speeches supporting a Malaysian Malaysia. Seenivasagam in his speech accused the Alliance of using Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia to "bully non-Malays".
His contemporary Syed Husin Ali said that while DR was ostensibly a progressive politician, he was often seen as the voice of non-Malay perspectives.

In 1965, DR famously made an allegation of corruption against then education minister Abdul Rahman Talib in Parliament, and repeated it in front of a huge crowd, including Rahman, at the Chinese Assembly Hall.

Rahman sued DR for defamation but lost the case and ended up resigning as a minister.

DR Seenivasagam died in March, 1969 aged 44.

Legacy

His party repeated its success in the May, 1969 elections by winning four parliamentary seats and nearly gained control of the Perak state government.

However in 1973, his brother brought the party into the Barisan Nasional coalition and this led to a collapse in support as its voters turned to the Democratic Action Party.

D. R. Seenivasagam Park, formerly known as Coronation Park, is named after the politician. It is located in the centre of Ipoh (New Town) and is known for its scenic environment and recreational facilities.

It comprises recreational fields, an artificial lake filled with fish, a nursery for potted plants and a children's traffic playground. There is also a landscaped Japanese garden featuring a Japanese carp pond.

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seenivasagam, D. R.
20th-century Malaysian lawyers
Malaysian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent
Malaysian people of Tamil descent
Tamil politicians
Malaysian Hindus
Malaysian politicians of Tamil descent
1925 births
1969 deaths
Malaysian politicians of Indian descent
People from Ipoh
Malaysian political party founders
Malaysian socialists
Members of the Perak State Legislative Assembly
People's Progressive Party (Malaysia) politicians
Malaysian MPs 1959–1964
Malaysian MPs 1964–1969