Kulasegaran – from a minister’s bane to a minister

PETALING JAYA: He was such a pain in the side of the Human Resource Ministry that he was as­ked to stop harassing the minister.

That was years ago. On Monday, M. Kulasegaran, the lawyer who gave then minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn such a headache, will be sworn in as the new Human Resources Minister.

As a man who has spent many years dealing with labour practices and with the Industrial Court, Kula­segaran is a right fit for the portfolio.

Kulasegaran, when contacted about his new post, said he had touched on issues involving the common folk so frequently throughout his 17 years as MP that at one point “years ago, the minister told me to stop harassing him!”

The Ipoh Barat MP acknowledged that he had mentioned to DAP about his preference for the portfolio when the chance came up but he was told that it would be tough as there was bound to be “competition” for it.

Now that the post has been confirmed, he said there were great challenges ahead of him.

“There are mammoth tasks ahead,” he said, citing examples of discrepancies between the Employ­ment Act and Socso regulations, plus delays in Industrial Court cases.

Kulasegaran, 60, who also made news as the lawyer for M. Indira Gandhi in her nine-year battle against the unilateral conversion of her three children to Islam, said he was particularly keen to help the B40 group (the bottom 40% of households with a monthly income of RM3,900 and below).

Kulasegaran, who read law at Lincoln’s Inn, described the Cabinet appointment as “a great one, thanks to Pakatan Harapan.”

The first person he told about his appointment was his wife. She is now eagerly waiting for the swearing-in.

Fong remembers those years.

“He has represented many labour cases and is familiar with the ins and outs of the matters of court,” he said of Kulasegaran.

“He will make a good HR minister. I hope he will fight hard to improve the minimum wage of workers, one of the things we’ve been fighting for for a long time,” he said.

Another DAP stalwart and lawyer to make it to the Cabinet is Gobind Singh Deo, who was appointed Commu­nications and Multimedia Minister.

“It’s a great honour to be able to serve our country in that capacity. A huge responsibility it is,” he said on his Facebook, pledging to do his best.

Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, 60, said she was humbled and grateful of her appointment as minister of housing and local government in the new Cabinet.

“Now, I have a chance to look at the policies and implementation of the ministry in great detail. I believe many substantive improvements and suggestions can be implemented.

“Issues like balanced housing for bumiputras in large urban areas, and the rights of minorities, indigenous people and other citizens must always be adressed,” she said.

Defence Minister Datuk Mohamad Sabu said he had a very heavy responsibility on his shoulders. As Defence Minister, the Kota Raja MP said he had been given a serious task which would be challenging.