Manpower man at work: Sivakumar (left) being greeted by members of his staff on his first day of duty at the Human Resources Ministry in Putrajaya. — Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: The responsibility of looking after the well-being of Malaysians, including the Indian community, is shared by all Cabinet members of the unity government and not by a particular minister of the same race, says Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar.
Sivakumar said the perception that the welfare of the Indian community would be sidelined because he is the only minister representing the community in the Cabinet should not arise.
“This is because, apart from myself as a minister in the Cabinet, there are many representatives from the community in Parliament who can together help the government make a balanced policy without marginalising any race.
“The responsibility of solving the problems facing the Indian community does not rest on my shoulders alone but on the entire Cabinet. We (the Cabinet) will ensure that the formulation of any policy is for all people, regardless of race,” he told reporters after clocking in at his office at the Human Resources Ministry here yesterday.
He was greeted on arrival by the ministry’s acting secretary-general Datuk Muhd Khair Razman Mohamed Annuar and other senior officers.
The Batu Gajah MP is the only elected representative from the Indian community in the unity government Cabinet.
On his plans and vision for the ministry, Sivakumar said his main focus would be to resolve issues in human resources and unemployment, adding that he would spend the first week or fortnight meeting with all the related agencies.
Last Saturday, Sivakumar, along with two Deputy Prime Ministers and 24 other ministers, took their oaths of office before the Yang di- Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara.
In the 15th General Election, Sivakumar, 51, retained the Batu Gajah parliamentary seat for the third term with a majority of 53,836 votes, defeating Perikatan Nasional’s Woo Cheong Yuen and Barisan Nasional’s Teoh Chin Chong.
