K. S. Nijhar

Who is K. S. Nijhar?

Tan Sri Karnail Singh Nijhar or simply known as K.S. Nijhar was one of the three vice-presidents of the Malaysian Indian Congress.

He is the highest ranking Punjabi and Sikh in the political party, which is dominated by Tamils. However, he is not the sole Sikh in the Malaysian parliament. The member being Karpal Singh who is from the opposition Democratic Action Party.

To top it up, he is one of the seven member of parliaments from the MIC, making him a minority within a minority.

Growing up, Nijhar recollects the times he had to stay in a kampung house without any basic amenities and had to depend on wells for water, and Hindu temples for free meals because of poverty.

While a student at St Xavier's Institution in Penang, he used to earn money as a ball boy at clubs with tennis courts. But this did not stop him from excelling in school. He topped the school examinations between 1947 and 1954.

“My passion to serve the community exceeds my desire to make money in the business world,” he said, adding that he had saved the Selangor MIC building from being auctioned off, and had also refinanced two of his cars to organise a national economic congress in 1980.

In the Malaysian parliament, he sits on the Public Accounts Committee. He had also served on the National Unity Committee.