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Former MIC stalwart Subra dies at 78

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S Subramaniam, who was the longest serving MIC deputy president for 27 years, had been in a coma since 2011 after suffering a brain aneurysm.

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Former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam served as deputy minister for a few terms. (Youtube pic)

PETALING JAYA:
Former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam, who had been in a coma at his home since he suffered a brain aneurysm 11 years ago, passed away this evening. He was 78.

According to a family friend, he was pronounced dead at about 8pm, surrounded by family members. Funeral arrangements would be announced later.

Subra, as he was fondly known, suffered a cerebral bleed due to high blood pressure in November 2011. He slipped into a coma after surgery and had remained in coma at his home since then.

He is survived by his wife Tina Subramaniam, two sons, and a daughter.

He was the longest serving MIC deputy president from 1979 to 2006 which saw him engage in bitter feuds with party president S Samy Vellu.

He served as the then Damansara and Segamat MP for a total of six terms and was also appointed senator for two terms in his political career which began in 1974. After a fallout with party president Samy Vellu, he was dropped as a candidate in the 2004 general election.

He had served as deputy minister under former prime ministers Hussein Onn, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“He had touched the hearts of many Malaysians with his gentle nature and never had any harsh words even under very trying political challenges. We remember him as a politician and a gentleman. We will surely miss him,” his son S Sunther told FMT.

Sunther said the funeral would be held on Thursday.

Born in 1944, Subra’s political career began at the age of 30 when he was handpicked by the then MIC president V Manickavasagam and fielded in the tough Damansara seat in the 1974 general election.

After a convincing win, he was made the deputy labour and manpower minister. It was a move by Manickavasagam to groom Subra to take over the party. But after a bitter fight for the deputy president’s post, Subra lost to Samy Vellu by a mere 26 votes in the 1977 party elections.

Subsequently, Subra failed to retain his Damansara seat in 1978, losing to DAP stalwart V David. He was then appointed a senator and made a deputy minister by Hussein. He was moved to the Segamat parliamentary constituency in the 1982 election, the constituency he held until 2004 when he was dropped by Samy Vellu.

During the period, he was the deputy minister for international trade and industry, and domestic trade and consumer affairs. He was also the parliamentary secretary for the ministries of labour and manpower and international trade and industry.

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