N. Surendran

Malaysian lawyer and politician

N. Surendran

நா. சுரேந்திரன்

Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Padang Serai
In office
5 May 2013 – 9 May 2018
Preceded by| N Gobalakrishnan
(PR–PKR)
Succeeded by| Karupaiya Mutusami
(PH–PKR)
Majority| 8,437 (2013)
Personal details
Born|

N. Surendran s/o K. Nagarajan

1966 (age 57-58)
Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Citizenship| Malaysian
Political party| People's Justice Party (PKR)
(–2024)
Independent
(since 2024)
Other political
affiliations| Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
(–2015)
Pakatan Harapan (PH)
(2015–2024)
Alma mater| University of London
Occupation| Politician
Profession| Lawyer

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Parliament of Malaysia[7][14][15][16] Year  | Constituency  | Candidate  | Votes  | Pct  | Opponent(s)  | Votes  | Pct  | Ballots cast  | Majority  | Turnout

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2013 | P017 Padang Serai, Kedah |  | N. Surendran (PKR)  | 34,151 | 54.07% |  | Heng Seai Kie (MCA)  | 25,714  | 40.71%  | 64,584  | 8,437  | 87.16%
| Hamidi Abu Hassan (Berjasa) | 2,630  | 4.16%
| N. Gobalakrishnan (IND)  | 390  | 0.62%
| Othman Wawi (IND)  | 279  | 0.44%

## References[edit]

1. ^ "House of Representatives". Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
2. ^ "N. Surendran a/l K. Nagarajan". Demi Rakyat. Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
3. ^ "Surendran ready to take on Gobala in Padang Serai". Malaysiakini. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
4. ^ "WHO WE ARE – Lawyers for Liberty". www.lawyersforliberty.org. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
5. ^ Chooi, Clara (27 December 2010). "Anwar says Surendran qualified for PKR veep post". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
6. ^ Zakiah Koya (1 May 2014). "PKR polls: Azmin leads, Saifuddin and Khalid trail far behind". fz.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
7. ^ a b "Maklumat Terperinci Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014. Table excludes votes for candidates who finished in third place or lower.
8. ^ "PKR MP Surendran suspended from Parliament for six months". The Malaysian Insider. The Malaysian Insider. 14 November 2013. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
9. ^ "Pakatan MP's ordered out of Parliament over Lynas". MSN News. Microsoft. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.[permanent dead link]
10. ^ "Drop Surendran's sedition charges before Anwar's sodomy appeal, PKR man repeats". Malay Mail. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
11. ^ Rashvinjeet S. Bedi; Victoria Brown (12 May 2018). "Padang Serai rep N. Surendran dropped from PKR line-up". The Star. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
12. ^ "Pua's sedition probe: Surendran laments 'shameful' silence from Harapan". Malaysiakini. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
13. ^ "'Take this as my resignation' - ex-MP Surendran quits PKR". Malaysiakini. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
14. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 23 May 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
15. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
16. ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum. Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

## See also[edit]

* Malaysia portal

* List of Malaysian politicians of Indian origin