Sivakumar Varatharaju

V. Sivakumar is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Batu Gajah since 2013. A member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), he previously served as the Minister of Human Resources from 2022 to 2023 and as a member of the Perak State Legislative Assembly for Tronoh from 2008 to 2013. During his time in the state assembly, he made history as the first ethnic Indian to serve as Speaker of a Malaysian legislature. His political career is noted for his involvement in the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis, where he famously attempted to convene an emergency assembly session under a tree after being barred from the state building. He holds degrees in Economics and Legal Philosophy and has served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the DAP since 2017.