N. Surendran Explained

N. Surendran
Birth Name:N. Surendran s/o K. Nagarajan
Constituency Mp2:Padang Serai
Parliament2:Malaysian
Term Start2:5 May 2013
Term End2:9 May 2018
Predecessor2:Gobalakrishnan Nagapan
(PRPKR)
Successor2:Karupaiya Mutusami
(PH–PKR)
Majority2:8,437 (2013)
Birth Place:Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Occupation:Politician
Profession:Lawyer
Citizenship:Malaysian
Party:People's Justice Party (PKR)

Independent
Otherparty:Pakatan Rakyat (PR)

Pakatan Harapan (PH)
Alma Mater:University of London
Native Name Lang:Tamil
Native Name:நா. சுரேந்திரன்

N. Surendran s/o K. Nagarajan (Tamil: நா. சுரேந்திரன்), commonly referred to as N. Surendran, is a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Padang Serai from May 2013 to May 2018. He is an independent. He was a member and Vice President of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions.[1]

Early life, education and legal career

Surendran was born in Kuantan, Pahang and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah. His late father was a postmaster, and he has three siblings.[2] He obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London and was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 1994.

Surendran practiced as a human rights lawyer, taking on cases of deaths in custody and representing the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF).[3] He co-founded Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) in 2011 and became a key member of the group.[4]

Politics

In 2010 Surendran was appointed by Anwar Ibrahim as one of PKR's vice-presidents. The appointment was a surprise: Surendran was not a parliamentarian at the time and his selection was criticised by N. Gobalakrishnan, the then Padang Serai MP who had just lost a ballot for the vice presidency.[5] He remained in the post until 2014, when he was defeated for re-election in a party ballot.[6]

In the 2013 general election, Surendran contested the Padang Serai parliamentary seat for the PKR. Gobalakrishnan had won the seat for PKR in the previous election but left the party to sit on the crossbench soon after his public attack on Surendran's appointment as a party vice-president. Surendran won the seat at the election, defeating four other candidates including Gobalakrishnan. Surendran had expressed surprise, travelling to Padang Serai from his home in Kuala Lumpur to campaign, at the extent of rural poverty there.[7]

In November 2013, Surendran was suspended from the Parliament for six months. The government-dominated Parliament voted to suspend him on the ground of insulting the Speaker of the House of Representatives during a debate about the demolition of Hindu temples.[8] In Jun 2014, Surendran notched up his fourth suspension from the Parliament amidst a debate on the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant.[9] In August 2014, he was twice charged for sedition for criticising the overturning of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's acquittal on sodomy charges and alleging that the Prime Minister, Najib Razak, was "personally responsible" for Anwar's prosecution.[10]

Surendran was dropped by PKR as candidate for the 2018 general election.[11]

Surendran criticised the lack of response from PH lawmakers when a sedition probe was launched against former member of parliament Tony Pua over remarks he made in response to the Malaysian pardons board's decision to reduce former prime minister Najib Razak's 12 year jail sentence and RM210 million fine, calling it "shameful".[12] He later announced his resignation from PKR, arguing that the party no longer represented "change and reform".[13]

Election results

Year!
ConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout
2013P017 Padang Serai, Kedah (PKR)34,15154.07%Heng Seai Kie (MCA)25,71440.71%64,5848,43787.16%
2,6304.16%
(IND)3900.62%
Othman Wawi (IND)2790.44%

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: House of Representatives. 19 June 2014. Parliament of Malaysia.
  2. Web site: N. Surendran a/l K. Nagarajan. 19 June 2014. Demi Rakyat. Parti Keadilan Rakyat. https://web.archive.org/web/20141009124251/http://www.demirakyat.my/en/candidate/n-surendran-al-k-nagarajan. 9 October 2014. dead.
  3. News: Surendran ready to take on Gobala in Padang Serai. 12 April 2013. Malaysiakini. 6 December 2014.
  4. Web site: WHO WE ARE – Lawyers for Liberty. www.lawyersforliberty.org. en-US. 2018-07-20.
  5. News: Anwar says Surendran qualified for PKR veep post. Chooi. Clara. 27 December 2010. The Malaysian Insider. 8 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213110/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/anwar-says-surendran-qualified-for-pkr-veep-post/. 3 March 2016. dead.
  6. News: PKR polls: Azmin leads, Saifuddin and Khalid trail far behind. https://archive.today/20141208105018/http://www.fz.com/content/pkr-polls-azmin-leads-saifuddin-and-khalid-trail-far-behind. dead. 8 December 2014. Zakiah Koya. 1 May 2014. fz.com. 8 December 2014.
  7. Web site: Maklumat Terperinci Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum. Election Commission of Malaysia. Malay. 6 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222125438/http://www2.pmo.gov.my/election/maklumat.asp?strTahun=2013&strDR=P017&strDUN=0000&strParti=PKR. 22 December 2014. dead. Table excludes votes for candidates who finished in third place or lower.
  8. Web site: PKR MP Surendran suspended from Parliament for six months. 14 November 2013. 14 November 2013. The Malaysian Insider. https://web.archive.org/web/20131114065915/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pkr-mp-surendran-suspended-for-six-months. 14 November 2013. dead.
  9. Web site: Pakatan MP's ordered out of Parliament over Lynas. 17 June 2014. 19 June 2014. MSN News. Microsoft.
  10. News: Drop Surendran's sedition charges before Anwar's sodomy appeal, PKR man repeats. 18 October 2014. Malay Mail. 6 December 2014.
  11. News: Padang Serai rep N. Surendran dropped from PKR line-up. 12 May 2018. Rashvinjeet S. Bedi . Victoria Brown. The Star. 21 May 2018.
  12. Web site: 2024-02-06 . Pua's sedition probe: Surendran laments 'shameful' silence from Harapan . 2024-02-07 . Malaysiakini.
  13. Web site: 2024-02-07 . 'Take this as my resignation' - ex-MP Surendran quits PKR . 2024-02-07 . Malaysiakini.