Devamany S. Krishnasamy

Dato' Sri Devamany s/o. S. Krishnasamy (Tamil: தேவமணி கிருஷ்ணசாமி, romanized: Tēvamaṇi kiruṣṇacāmi; born 10 September 1957), also known as S. K. Devamany, is a Malaysian politician. He is the incumbent Deputy President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a major component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He was a Senator in Dewan Negara; the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia and served as the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (EPU) (2016-2018) in previous government.[1]

In this Indian name, the name S. Krishnasamy is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Devamany.

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Sri Devamany S. Krishnasamy
தேவமணி கிருஷ்ணசாமி
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economic Planning Unit : 27 June 2016–10 May 2018)
In office 27 June 2016 – 10 May 2018
Monarch	Abdul Halim Muhammad V
Prime Minister	Najib Razak
Minister	Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Preceded by	Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy
Succeeded by	Mohd Radzi Md Jidin as Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs
Constituency	Senator
In office 19 March 2008 – 15 May 2013
Monarch	Abdul Halim Muhammad V
Prime Minister	Najib Razak
Minister	Bernard Giluk Dompok (2008–2009) Koh Tsu Koon (2009–2013) Idris Jala (2009–2013)
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Position Abolished
Constituency	Cameron Highlands
Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker
In office 28 June 2013 – 30 June 2016
Monarch	Azlan Shah Nazrin Shah
Deputy	Nasarudin Hashim
Menteri Besar	Zambry Abdul Kadir
Preceded by	R. Ganesan
Succeeded by	S. Thangasvari
Constituency	non–MP (Barisan Nasional)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Cameron Highlands, Pahang
In office 21 March 2004 – 5 May 2013
Preceded by	New constituency
Succeeded by	G. Palanivel (MIC–BN)
Majority	6,260 (2004) 3,117 (2008)
Personal details
Born	Devamany s/o S. Krishnasamy (1957-09-10) 10 September 1957 Semanggol, Perak, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN) Perikatan Nasional (PN)
Spouse(s)	Saraswathy Nallaiah
Children	3 daughters
Alma mater	University of Malaya (UM)
Occupation	Politician

Previously he was also the Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker from 28 June 2013 to 30 June 2016. He formerly served as Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department under the Barisan Nasional government while being member of the Member of Parliament of Malaysia for the Cameron Highlands constituency in Pahang for two terms from 21 March 2004 to 5 May 2013.

Personal life

Devamany was born on 10 September 1957 in Semanggol, Perak and received his early education at King Edward VII School in Taiping.[2] In 1978, he qualified as a teacher from the Special Education Teachers' Institute in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. He then furthered his studies and graduated with a degree in Malay Literature from University Malaya in 1982.[3]

Dewamany is married to Saraswathy Nallaiah and the couple has three daughters.

Political career

Devamany was picked to be the treasurer general of Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) replacing Tan Sri Mahalingam in 2008.[4] He becomes MIC current Deputy President after winning the party re-election in 2015[5][6] when ROS nullified the 1 December 2013 party's earlier election in which he failed to retain the Vice-President position he previously held since 2009.[7][8]

Devamany was first elected to the Parliament of Malaysia in the 2004 election for the seat of Cameron Highlands, Pahang.[4] He held his seat in the 2008 election despite widespread losses by the MIC, leaving him as one of only three MIC members of the Dewan Rakyat. After the 2008 election, Devamany was appointed a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.[9][10]

For the 2013 Malaysian General Election, Devamany was selected to contest the Sungai Siput, Perak parliamentary constituency. However, he was defeated by incumbent Michael Jeyakumar from Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) who had contested under the tickets of People's Justice Party (PKR).

On 28 June 2013, he was voted in as the new Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker, receiving 31 votes to his opponent's 28.[11] He served as the Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker from June 2013 to June 2016.

Devamany was appointed as Senator and once again as the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (EPU) in the federal government on 27 June 2016.[1]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia[12][13][14]

Year	Constituency	Government		Votes	Pct	Opposition		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2004	P078 Cameron Highlands, Pahang		S.K. Devamany (MIC)	10,226	67.27%		Apalasamy Jataliah (DAP)	3,966	26.09%	15,202	6,260	65.92%
2008			S.K. Devamany (MIC)	9,164	55.69%		Apalasamy Jataliah (DAP)	6,047	37%	16,456	3,117	70.14%
2013	P062 Sungai Siput, Perak		S.K. Devamany (MIC)	18,800	45.17%		Michael Jeyakumar (PKR)	21,593	51.89%	41,617	2,793	80.70%
							Nagalingam Singaravelloo (IND)	197	0.47%
2018			S.K. Devamany (MIC)	15,210	35.60%		Kesavan Subramaniam (PKR)	20,817	48.72%	42,726	5,607	77.68%
							Ishak Ibrahim (PAS)	5,194	13.84%
							Michael Jeyakumar (PSM)	1,505	3.52%

References

1. YAP TZU GING (7 June 2016). "Newly sworn in, Devamany says yet to know duties as deputy minister". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
2. "DEVAMANY, S.K." SAIEE DRISS (in Malay). BIODATA TOKOH. 2 March 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
3. SANTHA OORJITHAM (21 February 2010). "Interview with SK Devamany : I REMEMBER WHEN… There was no toilet in school". New Strait Times. SwarnaBumiputran of Malaysia - poobalan.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
4. "Devamany new MIC treasurer-general". The Star. Star Publications. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
5. KHOO, SIMON (6 November 2015). "Devamany is new MIC deputy president". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 28 May 2016.
6. "Devamany beats Saravanan in race for MIC deputy president". The Malay Mail. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
7. http://www.nst.com.my/latest/devamany-to-defend-vp-post-1.394430
8. http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/12/02/Sothinathan-is-top-MIC-VP-Saravanan-and-Balakrishnan-take-second-and-third-spot/
9. "Devamany a/l S.Krishnasamy, Y.B. Dato'" (in Malay). Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
10. Joe, Hakim (8 October 2009). "Wake up fellas!". Malaysia Today. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
11. http://www.nst.com.my/latest/devamany-voted-in-as-perak-state-assembly-speaker-1.309372
12. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 11 July 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
13. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen 2013" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
14. "2013 Malaysia General Election NEGERI PERAK P62 Sungai Siput". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 5 May 2013. Results only available for the 2013 election.