Rajiv Rishyakaran

Summary

Rajiv Rishyakaran is a three-term DAP assemblyman for Bukit Gasing, Selangor, first elected in 2013, with a professional background in electrical engineering and pre-political experience as an MPSJ councillor and Hannah Yeoh's special assistant. He sits on the Selangor State Assembly's Select Committees on Local Government and Water Resources Management, and is the founding chairman of Social Democracy Malaysia (SocDem Malaysia), a centre-left think tank. He is most prominently associated with healthcare access advocacy — particularly the push for a Ministry of Health general hospital in Petaling Jaya — as well as public transport reform and anti-party-hopping legislation.

Biography

Rajiv Rishyakaran (born 12 October 1981) is a Malaysian politician of fourth-generation Tamil descent who has served as Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Bukit Gasing since May 2013, representing the Democratic Action Party (DAP) under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition [1]. He was born in Kuala Lumpur and spent part of his childhood in Ipoh, Perak, before completing secondary school in Subang Jaya, Selangor [1]. He graduated in 2003 from Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn, Johor, with a degree in Electrical Engineering specialising in Instrumentation and Automation, and subsequently worked as a project engineer with Prestige Engineering Sdn. Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur [1]. Rajiv joined DAP in 2008, co-founding DAP's USJ branch alongside Hannah Yeoh and Edward Ling [1]. He was appointed a Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ) councillor in 2009, simultaneously serving as Hannah Yeoh's Special Assistant, and was elected DAP Youth Selangor State Secretary in 2012 [1]. First elected to the Bukit Gasing seat in GE13 with approximately 78% of the vote, he has since won re-election in GE14 (2018) and the 2023 Selangor state election [1]. Following PH's 2018 federal victory, he served as Special Functions Officer to Minister Yeo Bee Yin (MESTECC) and was appointed to the board of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority [1]. He is a member of the Selangor State Assembly's Select Committees on Local Government and Water Resources Management [1]. He is also the founding chairman of Social Democracy Malaysia (SocDem Malaysia), a centre-left think tank focused on climate action, democracy and governance, and urban planning and housing [2].

Known for

Rajiv Rishyakaran is known as a three-term Bukit Gasing assemblyman who has consistently raised public healthcare access issues, particularly the absence of a Ministry of Health general hospital in Petaling Jaya and the higher costs borne by PJ residents at UMMC [3]. He is also recognised for his advocacy on public transportation, affordable housing, and anti-party-hopping legislation, having submitted a motion to the Selangor State Assembly in July 2019 to prohibit elected representatives from switching parties [1]. As founding chairman of SocDem Malaysia, he has extended his policy advocacy beyond the legislature into think-tank research on urban planning and social policy [4].

Political positions

On healthcare, Rajiv has persistently called for the Ministry of Health to build a general hospital in Petaling Jaya, arguing it is unfair that PJ residents pay significantly more for public healthcare than residents in other parts of the Klang Valley who have access to MOH hospitals [3][5][6]. He has also demanded unconditional coverage of pre-existing conditions under the government's Base Medical and Health Insurance/Takaful (Base MHIT) product, warning against frameworks that exclude those with chronic illnesses [3][7]. He has called for the immediate withdrawal of the MOH's May 2026 austerity directive, which he argued would worsen the public healthcare manpower shortage [3][8]. On public transportation, he co-founded SocDem Malaysia's research arguing the Klang Valley requires 7,000 additional buses to address chronic congestion, and has consistently favoured expanding public transport over building highways [9]. On governance, he submitted a 2019 motion against party hopping in the Selangor assembly and has supported local council elections in principle, while acknowledging coalition constraints [1]. He has described his ideological position as centre-left [3][10].

Education

1. 2003Graduated from Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn, Johor, with a degree in Electrical Engineering specialising in Instrumentation and Automation.⛓

Before politics

1. 2003Joined Prestige Engineering Sdn. Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur as a project engineer following graduation.⛓

Political career

1. 2008Joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and co-founded DAP's USJ branch alongside Hannah Yeoh and Edward Ling.⛓
2. 2009Appointed Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ) Councillor and simultaneously served as Hannah Yeoh's Special Assistant. Also appointed DAP Youth Selangor Organising Secretary.⛓
3. 2012Elected DAP Youth Selangor State Secretary and appointed to the DAP Youth National Executive Committee (NEC).⛓
4. May 2013First elected as Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for Bukit Gasing, receiving approximately 78% of the total votes under Pakatan Rakyat (DAP).⛓
5. 2013 and 2015Co-opted as DAP Selangor state committee member in 2013 and again in 2015.⛓
6. May 2018Re-elected for a second term as Bukit Gasing assemblyman under Pakatan Harapan (DAP), receiving 67.4% of votes cast.⛓
7. 2018–2020Appointed Special Functions Officer to Minister Yeo Bee Yin (MESTECC) and to the board of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority following PH's 2018 federal election victory.⛓
8. July 2019Submitted a motion to the Selangor State Assembly to prohibit party hopping among elected representatives.⛓
9. March 2018Raised a motion in the Selangor State Assembly to condemn and reject the Election Commission's redelineation exercise, which the assembly subsequently voted to pass.⛓
10. August 2023Re-elected for a third term as Bukit Gasing assemblyman under Pakatan Harapan (DAP) in the Selangor state election, receiving 52.0% of votes in a three-cornered contest.⛓

Election history

• 2023Bukit Gasing (N34), SelangorWon52%⛓
• 2018Bukit Gasing (N34), SelangorWon67.4%⛓
• 2013Bukit Gasing (N34), SelangorWon77.9%⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• VerifiedFactsRajiv has been elected to the Bukit Gasing state seat for three consecutive terms (2013, 2018, 2023) under the DAP/Pakatan Harapan banner, with vote shares of approximately 78%, 67.4%, and 52.0% respectively. He sits on the Selangor State Assembly Select Committees on Local Government and Water Resources Management.⛓
• GovernmentRajiv has operated within the Pakatan Harapan state government in Selangor since 2013, and served within the PH federal government structure (2018–2020) as Special Functions Officer to a federal minister. His current positions — including committee membership and think-tank chairmanship — place him broadly within the ruling coalition's policy space at the state level.⛓
• ExpertCodeBlue (Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy) has repeatedly engaged Rajiv as a commentator on Malaysian public health policy, covering his statements on UMMC costs, healthcare manpower shortages, dengue vaccination subsidies, Base MHIT coverage, and MOH austerity measures, reflecting recognition of his sustained focus on the health policy space.⛓
• PublicConstituents in Bukit Gasing — a seat with approximately 100,000 residents — have returned Rajiv to office three times, though his vote share declined from 78% in 2013 to 52% in 2023, the latter a three-cornered contest against Perikatan Nasional and Muda candidates.⛓