K. S. Nijhar

In this Indian name, the name Nijhar is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Karnail Singh. The abbreviation "s/o" or "d/o", if used, means "son of" or "daughter of" respectively.

Karnail Singh Nijhar (Punjabi: ਕਰਨੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇਜਾਰ, romanized: Karanaila Sigha Nējāra; 2 July 1936 – 15 June 2021) was a Malaysian politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Subang from November 1999 to March 2008 and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry from 1989 to 1991.^[1] He was a member and had served as Vice-President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.^[2]

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Karnail Singh PSM SPMJ JMN
ਕਰਨੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇਜਾਰ
Parliamentary Secretary of International Trade and Industry
In office 1990–1991
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	Subramaniam Sinniah
Parliamentary Secretary of Trade and Industry
In office 1989–1990
Succeeded by	Himself
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1999–2008	Barisan Nasional
Faction represented in Dewan Negara
1985–1991	Barisan Nasional
Personal details
Born	Karnail Singh Nijhar s/o Amar Singh (1936-07-02)2 July 1936 Pengkalan Hulu, Perak, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	15 June 2021(2021-06-15) (aged 84) Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Resting place	Xiao En Memorial Park, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse	Molina Kaur Nijhar
Children	2
Alma mater	University Malaya
Occupation	Member of Parliament
Profession	Politician, economist, educationist and entrepreneur

Early life and education

Nijhar was born in Pengkalan Hulu, Perak, on 2 July 1936, on a bullock cart somewhere between Kroh and Kelian Intan.^[3][4] His father, Amar Singh, an immigrant from Punjab, moved to the Malaya in 1926 as a labourer in Rahman Hydraulic Tin Mine. Growing up, Nijhar lived in a kampung house without basic amenities and depended on wells for water and Hindu temples for free meals. He never owned a pair of shoes as a kid and was illiterate until the age of nine.^[5]

While a student at St Xavier's Institution in Penang, he earned money as a ball boy at clubs with tennis courts. He continued to excel at school however, and between 1947 and 1954 received high scores on examinations.^[2]

Early career

Before he joined politics as a MIC member in 1974, he was a lecturer in economics at the University of Malaya and one of two Indians with a PhD in economics in Malaysia at the time.^{[citation needed]} The Malaysian government sought his help for various initiatives during his early years as an academic, such as for the development of "academic staff salaries for Malaysian universities" for the Justice Harun Hashim Commission. Arshad Ayub, director of Institut Teknologi Mara, engaged him as a part-time lecturer and to help develop the curriculum for the school of business administration.^[5]

Politics

Nijhar was the highest-ranking Punjabi and Sikh in the MIC, since MIC President V. T. Sambanthan's time in 1955, to hold any national-level portfolios in the Tamil-dominated party even as a Punjabi Sikh who spoke no Tamil.^[6] He was one of seven MPs from the MIC, causing him to be a minority within a minority. In 1980, began to be a close confidante of then MIC President Samy Velu, he was appointed by as Chairman of the Economic Bureau and Education Bureau of MIC where he had contributed setting-up the MIC's educational arm, Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED).^[2] In 1981, he started to gain stature within the MIC, first as a central working committee (CWC) member and later as treasurer-general for nine years, secretary-general for four years, and vice-president for nine years.^[5]

He was appointed a Senator in 1985, the first time MIC nominated a Punjabi Sikh for the Senate and the second Punjabi Sikh in Malaysia's history to sit in the Senate, after Senator Paramjit Singh, president of People’s Progressive Party (PPP).^[2] He was re-appointed for the second-term Senatorship in 1988. Around this time, he was appointed parliamentary secretary to the ministry of trade and industry during which time he also served as a member of the first National Economic Consultative Council.^[5]

In the 1999 Malaysian general election, he joined Karpal Singh of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) to be one of two Punjabi Sikhs elected in the Parliament. While an MP, he sat on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on National Integration, where he aimed to represent Malays and Indians in Subang and the country. In 2005, he questioned the validity of a memorandum of the DAP Johor State Committee, suggesting that it didn't take into account the view of Malay and Indian communities, and criticized the DAP.^[7] He won the parliamentary seat of Subang in Selangor twice in 1999 general election and 2004 general election before he was dropped as a candidate for the 2008 general election, where the BN candidate replacement for the constituency, S. Murugeson was defeated by the candidate from People's Justice Party (PKR), Sivarasa Rasiah.^[8]

Nijhar had resigned as MIC Vice-President following a heated row with party chief Samy Vellu in 2008.^[9] His last position held in CWC, was the MIC Discipline Committee after being replaced by the new MIC President G. Palanivel in 2015.^[10]

Business

Nijhar left politics at 72. He had run with his son, Rabin a security company, Cisco (M) Sdn Bhd which he acquired in 1979.^[5][11]

Personal life

Nijhar married lecturer Molina Kaur Nijhar.^[3][12] The couple has a daughter Premeeta Kaur Nijhar and son Rabinder Singh Nijhar.^[5] They had two children.^[5]

Death

Nijhar died on 15 June 2021 after having a stroke.^[5][13] His final rites were performed along with a service held among close family members at his home in Bukit Pantai, followed by cremation at Xiao En Memorial Park in Nilai the next day.^[2]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^[14][8]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1999	P107 Subang		Karnail Singh (MIC)	36,137	55.49%		Irene Fernandez (keADILan)	28,985	44.51%	67,847	7,152	73.11%
2004			Karnail Singh (MIC)	32,941	65.33%		Mohd Nasir Hashim (PKR)1	17,481	34.67%	52,017	15,460	75.67%

Note: ¹ Mohd Nasir Hashim amid contesting under the PKR ticket in the 2004 election, is a member of PSM.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

•  Malaysia :
  • Companion of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (JMN) (1980)^[15]
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (1997)^[15]
•  Johor :
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' ^[15]

Bibliography

In June 2016, he released an autobiography narrated to his daughter Premeeta, titled "The Bullock Cart Boy".^[2][3]

• The Bullock Cart Boy (2016) ISBN 978-967-415-369-4^[4]

See also

• Subang (federal constituency)
• Members of the Dewan Negara, 6th Malaysian Parliament
• Members of the Dewan Negara, 7th Malaysian Parliament
• Members of the Dewan Negara, 8th Malaysian Parliament

References

1. "Two Punjabi members in Malaysian Indian Congress". North India Times. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "K.S. Nijhar, one of highest-ranked Punjabi Sikhs in MIC, dies at 85". The Vibes. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
3. "Memoir angkat semangat setia kawan" (in Malay). Berita Harian. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
4. Tan Sri Dr K. S. Nijhar (2016), The Bullock Cart Boy, MPH Group Publishing Sdn Bhd, ISBN 9789674154721
5. "KS Nijhar: 'Bullock cart boy' to political, corporate leader". Free Malaysia Today. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
6. "Former MIC leader Nijhar releases 'The Bullock Cart Boy'". Asia Samachar. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
7. "MIC representatives should be rational when dealing with views and opinions from the Opposition on national integration". Lau Weng San. DAP Malaysia. 9 September 2005. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
8. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
9. Annie Freeda Cruez (29 May 2008). "Nijhar quits after row with Samy Vellu". New Straits Times. Retrieved 21 July 2019 – via Din Merican’s Wordpress.
10. T. Avineshwaran (3 January 2015). "MIC Umum Pelantikan Setiausaha Agung, Pengarah Strategi Yang Baharu". mStar. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
11. "Member Directory: Cisco (M) Sdn Bhd", Persatuan Industri Keselamatan Malaysia (PIKM)
12. "Retired Graduates from Class of '79 Reunited with Their Retired Lecturers After a Space of Almost 40 Years", akmal ahmat, Persatuan Pustakawan Malaysia (PPM)-Librarians Association of Malaysia, 11 May 2017, retrieved 20 June 2021
13. "Former MIC veep KS Nijhar passes away at 85". The Star. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
14. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
15. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Bahagian Istiadat dan Urusetia Persidangan Antarabangsa. Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Retrieved 25 October 2018.