Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu

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In this Indian name, the name Kumar is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Santhara.
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Seri Dr.
Edmund Santhara
SMW SSAP DIMP DPMP PGDK JP
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture
In office
30 August 2021 – 24 November 2022
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterIsmail Sabri Yaakob
MinisterNancy Shukri
Preceded byGuan Dee Koh Hoi
Succeeded byKhairul Firdaus Akbar Khan
ConstituencySegamat
Deputy Minister of Federal Territories
In office
10 March 2020 – 16 August 2021
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterMuhyiddin Yassin
MinisterAnnuar Musa
Preceded byShahruddin Md Salleh
Succeeded byJalaluddin Alias
ConstituencySegamat
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Segamat
In office
9 May 2018 – 19 November 2022
Preceded bySubramaniam Sathasivam
(BN–MIC)
Succeeded byYuneswaran Ramaraj
(PH–PKR)
Majority5,476 (2018)
1st Deputy President of the
Parti Bangsa Malaysia
In office
8 October 2022 – 14 February 2023
PresidentLarry Sng Wei Shien
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
2018–2020Pakatan Harapan
2020Malaysian United Indigenous Party
2020–2022Perikatan Nasional
2022Parti Bangsa Malaysia
Personal details
Born
Santhara Kumar s/o Ramanaidu

(1971-04-03) 3 April 1971 (age 53)
Layang-Layang, Simpang Renggam, Johor, Malaysia
Political partyPeople's Justice Party (PKR)
(–2020)
Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU)
(2020–2022)
Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM)
(since 2022)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Harapan (PH)
(–2020)
Perikatan Nasional (PN)
(2020–2022)
Barisan Nasional (BN)
(aligned: 2020-2022)
SpouseCarline d/o Johnson D'Cruz
Alma materNational University of Malaysia
University of Strathclyde
Newcastle University
ProfessionBusinessman
Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu on Facebook
Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu on Parliament of Malaysia

Datuk Seri Dr. Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu (Tamil: சந்தார்த்த குமார், romanized: Cantārtta kumār) is a Malaysian politician, businessman and entrepreneur who served as Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former Minister Nancy Shukri from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022, Deputy Minister of Federal Territories in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Minister Annuar Musa from March 2020 to the collapse of the PN administration in August 2021 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Segamat from May 2018 to November 2022. He is a member of the Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) and was[1] an associate member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), a component party of the PN coalition and he created history of becoming the first non-indigenous politician to join BERSATU as an associate member. Previously was a member, National Integration Bureau chairman and Coordinator of Segamat of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition.[2] He resigned from PKR and joined BERSATU in February 2020 Sheraton Move. He served as the 1st Deputy President of PBM from October 2022 to February 2023. In the November 2022 Malaysian general elections, he chose not to seek reelection as an MP and defend the Segamat seat that he had won in the previous election as a PKR candidate for personal reasons.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Santhara was born on 3 April 1971 at Hospital Kluang, to his parents who hails from Sembrong Estate, Layang-Layang, Johor.[4] He obtained his Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) from University of Newcastle, Australia.[5]

Corporate career[edit]

Santhara joined Masterskill in October 2004 as the Director of Business Development, where he was tasked with improving the company's growth opportunities. In January 2005, he was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for overall management. In September of the same year, Santhara was promoted to Chief Executive Officer. According to the group's website, Masterskill is the largest nursing and allied health sciences education group in Malaysia and one of the largest in the Asia Pacific region.[6]

In 2017, Santhara announced his decision to quit as the CEO of Masterskill Education Group Bhd (MEGB) to concentrate on his political career.[7]

Political career[edit]

Santhara contested the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat as an independent in the 2013 general election (GE13) but gained only 999 votes. He stood in the 2018 general election (GE14) in the Segamat parliamentary seat, representing PH-PKR, and was elected with 52.11% of the vote.[8] On 6 August 2020, he submitted a lifetime membership to join Malaysian United Indigenous Party, which was accepted.[9] However, he left the party on 22 July 2022.[10]

Controversies[edit]

Santhara had gone on a 55-day holiday trip to visit his wife and children in New Zealand raising allegations that he controversially skipped duties without approved leave amid the travel restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic at the end of 2020.[11][12] He has also been questioned of practising the government double-standards for being allowed to under-go the quarantine at his luxury home while ordinary people would has to stay at hotel rooms for the 10-day period.[13]

Election results[edit]

Parliament of Malaysia[14][15][16]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 P094 Hulu Selangor, Selangor Edmund Santhara (IND) 999 1.33% P. Kamalanathan (MIC) 37,403 49.79% 75,113 3,414 87.65%
Khalid Jaafar (PKR) 33,989 45.25%
Radzali Mokhtar (IND) 1,105 1.47%
2018 P140 Segamat, Johor Edmund Santhara (PKR) 24,060 52.11% S. Subramaniam (MIC) 18,584 40.25% 46,170 5,476 83.41%
Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil (PAS) 2,676 5.79%

Awards and honours[edit]

Professional membership fellowships[edit]

Santhara has obtained following fellowships.[5]

  • Honorary Fellow of Association of Business Executives (ABE), U.K
  • Fellow of Charted Institute of Marketing (FCIM), U.K
  • Fellow of Malaysian Institute of Management (FMIM)
  • Fellow of Malaysian Institute of Human Resources Management (FMIHRM)
  • Associate Fellow of Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Malaysia

Awards and recognitions[edit]

Honours of Malaysia[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Edmund Santhara has quit Bersatu, says source".
  2. ^ "PKR president announces party's new lineup". Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  3. ^ Elill Easwaran (5 November 2022). "Santhara pulls out of GE15 citing personal reasons". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Santhara Kumar a/l Ramanaidu". PRU Di Sinar (in Malay). Sinar Harian. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santhara: Profile and Background". Google Docs. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ^ Jose Barrock. "Edmund Santhara sells chunk of Masterskill". Kinibiz Online. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Dr Santhara resigns as CEO of Masterskill". The Malaysian Reserve. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Santhara hopes to upset Subra in Segamat". The Star. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Ex-PKR lawmaker Edmund Santhara joins Bersatu". Malaysiakini. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  10. ^ Muhammad, Anne (22 July 2022). "Edmund Santhara has quit Bersatu, says source". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  11. ^ Yiswaree Palansamy (25 March 2021). "Report: Deputy minister Edmund Santhara returns home after NZ jaunt, serving Covid-19 quarantine". Malay Mail. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Edmund Santhara explains 55-day leave, says visiting children in New Zealand". New Straits Times. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Malaysia's deputy minister back home after controversial New Zealand trip". The Straits Times. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  14. ^ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM SPR" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 30 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  15. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  16. ^ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  17. ^ "Ernst & Young names Santhara entrepreneur of the year". The Star. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Chong Wei wins TOYM award". The Star. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2021. Founder and CEO of Masterskill Education Group Datuk Edmund Santhara received the award for the Business, Economic and Entrepreneurial Accomplishment category.
  19. ^ "The JCI TOYM program was launched by Junior Chamber International Malaysia (JCIM) in year 1985". JCI Malaysia. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Asia HRD Awards". SMR HR Group. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  21. ^ "JCI News Dato Sri' Edmund Santhara Ramanaidu of Malaysia selected as one of the 2011 JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  22. ^ Ibrahim, Mohd Iskandar; Sulaiman, Noor Atiqah (1 February 2021). "Seramai 335 terima darjah kebesaran sempena Hari Wilayah". Berita Harian (in Malay). Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  23. ^ Hadir, Shawaliah (1 February 2021). "Tengku Zafrul antara 6 penerima Darjah Kebesaran Pangkat Pertama sempena Hari WP". MalaysiaGazette (in Malay). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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