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Biography
Biography
Rajiv Rishyakaran is a Malaysian politician from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component of Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. He is the third-term member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly representing the seat of Bukit Gasing since 2013. Rajiv also chairs the Special Select Committee for Poverty Eradication alongside serving as a member of the District and Land Office Select Committee.
Rajiv Rishyakaran was born on 12 October 1981, at Hospital Universiti, Kuala Lumpur. He is the eldest of 5 brothers. His father, Rishyakaran Karthigasu is a retired Ministry of Health officer whilst his mother, Rajini Chandrapal retired from teaching to be a homemaker. He is of 4th generation Malaysian Ceylonese descent. Rajiv has 3 children, Julia (born 2017), Elisha (born 2018), and Noah (born 2020).
Born and raised in the Klang Valley, he attended Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn, Johor, graduating in 2003 with a degree in Electrical Engineering specializing in Instrumentation & Automation.In his third year, he started debating competitively, pushing him to learn more about public policy. There was already a pre-existing interest in government before university but his involvement in debate only accelerated this interest. This is one of the reasons that slowly led Rajiv to a full-time career in politics. He has since completed his Masters in Public Administration at the University of Malaya (UM).
Rajiv is currently the Chairman of the Select Committee for Agencies, Statutory Bodies and Subsidiaries (JP-ABAS). He is also a member of the Special Select Committee for Climate Change, Welfare, Health, Education, Family Development, Religion And Women And Wellbeing (JPK – Sejahtera).
Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Rajiv joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in 2008 and, along with Hannah Yeoh and Edward Ling, was one of the founding members of the DAP-USJ branch. In 2009, Rajiv was appointed DAP Youth Selangor organizing secretary. He was elected DAP Youth Selangor State Secretary in 2012 and elected to the DAP Youth National Executive Committee (NEC).
Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ)
Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ)
In 2009, Rajiv was appointed Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ) Councillor, where he stayed until the 2013 elections. While in MPSJ, he was responsible for Zone 3 (USJ 2-15) until June 2012 when he was reassigned to Zone 3 (SS12-19) until May 2013. Throughout his tenure at MPSJ, he simultaneously served as Hannah Yeoh's Special Assistant. The Subang Jaya Urban Forest and the Subang Jaya Voluntary Patrol Unit (VPU), among others, were attributed to the role he played within the council.
Selangor State Legislative Assembly
Selangor State Legislative Assembly
Three days before the Nomination day for the 2013 General Elections, Rajiv was picked to contest for the state seat of Bukit Gasing. Rajiv listed several concerns as part of his GE13 campaign, pledging to be corruption-free and to champion:
Development issues and its effect on quality of life
Bettering traffic conditions and public transport
Reducing crime and improving security
Enhancing the public consultation process
Improving the local council
Local government elections
Enquiry on freehold and leasehold land
Conserving the environment
Rajiv received almost 78% of the total votes, giving him a landslide victory.
In the 2018 General Elections, Rajiv contested and managed to win for the second-term reelection for his Bukit Gasing state seat again.
In July 2020, he submitted a motion to the Selangor State Assembly which aimed to prohibit party hopping among elected representatives in the State. This came after the downfall of the Pakatan Harapan Government, after Bersatu and majority of its members left the coalition to form Perikatan Nasional with UMNO.
Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology, Environment, and Climate Change
Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology, Environment, and Climate Change
After Pakatan Harapan's unprecedented triumph over Barisan Nasional in 2018, Yeo Bee Yin was appointed as the Minister for Energy, Science and Technology, Environment, and Climate Change (MESTECC). Yeo subsequently appointed Rajiv as her Special Functions Officer, where he not only assisted in key ministerial processes but was also appointed into the board of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority, where he advocated for the widespread use of solar energy in the country as Rajiv is quite passionate about the environment.
Focus Areas
Focus Areas
Rajiv is DAP Socialist Youth's (DAPSY) National Assistant Secretary of Publicity and was co-opted as DAP Selangor state committee member in 2013 and 2015. In the Selangor state assembly, Rajiv is a member of the Select Committees on Local Government and Water Resources Management.
Rajiv's areas of interest are town planning, affordable housing and improving public transportation. Along with other state assembly representatives, he consistently called for a holistic “traffic masterplan” and believes that funds allocated for transportation will be better spent on extending the reach & connectivity of public transportation rather than building more highways. He is vocal about the need to replace aging infrastructure.
Recent Initiatives
Recent Initiatives
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Rajiv and the Bukit Gasing team were the first office to run consistent and sustainable COVID-19 tests at the lowest price of RM70 in November 2020 when average testing prices were RM300-RM600. His office also operated a vaccination centre as well as conducted PCR testing with the cheapest price in town at RM129.
The pandemic also brought to light the unfortunate disparity in digitalization between different demographics. Rajiv identified the part of the community who did not know how to use smartphones and set up a class every Wednesday to teach people how to operate smartphones to bridge the digital gap. For those who are not able to afford smartphones, Rajiv is offering brand new Samsung and Nokia smartphones at a flat price of RM100 for those who need it.
Rajiv also initiated a ‘My30 Buy 1 Free 1’ campaign in November 2021 in all DUN Bukit Gasing areas to encourage people to use public transport. This initiative successfully converted close to 300 private car users to public transport users. In April 2022, Rajiv brought ‘Kumpool’, a van-based ride sharing service to DUN Bukit Gasing to help with first mile and last mile connectivity. This service only charges RM1 for over 100 stops in Bukit Gasing.
Under Rajiv’s leadership, Bukit Gasing became the first constituency in Selangor to implement recycling separation and collection at one’s home. These recyclables are conveniently collected 3 times a week. The ‘Trash for Cash’ was introduced as an incentivised initiative where people get paid to bring their recyclables to a collection site. Each collection session saves over 200kg of recyclable waste from making its way to the landfills. Rajiv’s team also runs a composting workshop twice a month to prevent food waste from going to landfills. With environmental sustainability at, Rajiv started an initiative to plant 1000 trees in DUN Bukit Gasing and has already achieved around 80% of the goal.
In an effort to be more accessible to his constituents and listen to their pleas, Rajiv makes himself available for 2 hours every Wednesday, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM where he welcomes people to the Bukit Gasing Community Service Centre to talk to him without an appointment.
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