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The Star
22-05-2025
- General
- The Star
Rasammah Bhupalan: A life of service
Datuk Dr Rasammah Bhupalan, Malaysia's distinguished educationist, prominent women leader and social activist, died on May 13, 2025, aged 98. Born on May 1, 1927 in Ipoh, Perak, she was the youngest child of educationist parents, who instilled in her the belief that the primary role of teachers was to mould the country's future generations. During her early teens, in 1942, Rasammah witnessed the sudden collapse of British colonial rule of Malaya following the unexpected defeat of the British Army by a formidable Japanese Imperial Army. Anti-British sentiments among diaspora Indians in the region to free India from British rule, led to the formation of the Indian National Army (INA) under nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose, who established a women's wing in 1943 – the Rani of Jansi Regiment (RJR). At 16, Rasammah joined the RJR and rapidly imbibed vital leadership skills and self-discipline that stood her in good stead throughout her later professional life. On completion of her education at the Methodist Girls' School, Ipoh in 1949, Rasammah gained entry to University of Malaya, then in Singapore, on a Federal Government Teaching Scholarship and graduated with a BA Honours (Second Class Upper) Degree in History. In 1952, she married Dr Frank Bhupalan, a consultant anaesthesiologist. Education service Her obvious career choice was to follow in the footsteps of her parents, and she too embarked upon a philosophy of combating parochialism and achieving 'unity in diversity' through her educational career. Rasammah's career as a teacher, administrator and innovative educator spanned a period of more than half a century. Her life-long objective was to strive to take school education to new heights. Serving as an education officer in several prestigious secondary schools under dedicated, experienced educators was an enriching experience. In 1965, she assumed the headship of the Methodist Girls' School in Klang and subsequently, was appointed principal of the country's most prestigious Methodist Girls' School in Kuala Lumpur, a position she held for 13 years. To be effective, she believed the country's public education system needed to provide solid academic instruction and develop well-rounded students and 'creative thinkers'. A noble commitment of Rasammah towards disadvantaged poor children with often weaker education backgrounds, was to give special attention to improve their academic standards and narrow the achievement gap. She engaged the more experienced teachers to teach academically weaker students. She encouraged active participation in extracurricular programmes, ardently believing they provide pupils a rounded education. Hence, she spared no efforts to ensure that schools provided the essential facilities for co-curricular activities. As a strong advocate of parents playing a positive role in their children's education, Rasammah actively promoted Parents Teachers' Associations in all schools she taught and administered; they were instrumental in raising substantial funds from the community to build excellent infrastructure and learning facilities. Retirement: Continued education and community service On retirement from the education service in 1982, Rasammah became the founder principal of Methodist High School in KL which was later elevated to Methodist College. As a non-profit private institution providing A-Level classes, she geared the college towards educational excellence. Many of their high achieving students gained admission into world-class universities including Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics in Brtiain and Stanford University in the United States. During her ten-year tenure as Principal, she placed the College on the education map: A crowning achievement among her many contributions as a teacher and principal. In 1998, her untiring efforts to raise funds culminated in the establishment of the innovative YWCA's Vocational Training Opportunity Centre (VTOC) in Kuala Lumpur. The VTOC's main objective was to train disadvantaged young girls and women from West and East Malaysia including the Orang Asli community, irrespective of ethnicity or religion, in income-generating vocational skills including tailoring, culinary/bakery and early childhood education. Prof Wang Gungwu, in his foreword to Rasammah's biography, highlighted one of her most distinguishing features 'is her devotion to what her parents stood for, the cause of education in the enhancement of the human spirit. 'This is the key symbol of what Malaysia as a country stands for in the world and her contributions here will long be appreciated for upholding that position unswervingly.' Champion for gender equality Though women teachers increasingly dominated the profession, they were discriminated both in terms of pay and service conditions. For Rasammah, this gender inequality was both an anomaly and injustice. The harsh truth, for her, was that the National Joint Council for Teachers' (NJCT) negotiations with the government 'had been a complete failure in addressing the question of equal pay and other anomalies affecting women teachers'. The Women Teachers Union was thus established in 1960 to address the issue of equal pay, with Rasammah as Pro-tem Chairperson. Rasammah, as president of the Women Teachers' Union, persisted with the struggle for 'Equal Pay for Equal Work' through mass rallies in 1962, 1963 and 1964. Finally, after a protracted battle, the government led by Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, in July 1969, agreed to award equal pay for women. This battle for equal pay had not only united working women but further strengthened their role in the country's social and economic development through the formation of the National Council of Women's Organisations (NCWO). In their book, Empowering Women In Malaysia: The Mission Continues-The History of the NCWO, Adibah Amin and Farida J. Ibrahim acknowledged the vital role of the Women Teachers' Union in the inception of the NCWO. When then Education Minister Abdul Rahman Talib called for a single Teachers' Union to be formed 'to secure unanimity on basic issues affecting the profession', Rasammah organised a meeting of various teacher unions in August 1962 and emphasised that as 'one physical body of teachers we can more effectively improve conditions so that succeeding generations may live more freely and more abundantly'. At a historic meeting in 1965, Malaysian Teachers Union (MTU) was formed with Rasammah elected as a vice-president. National and international recognitions Rasammah accomplished many milestones in her time and for her dedicated, life-long service to fellow Malaysians, she was bestowed with numerous awards: A Federal Government Datukship; Tokoh Guru Award (1983); Pingat Emas Tun Fatimah (2003); Tokoh Wanita (2012) and the sole recipient of the Malaysian Women Leadership Award at the Global Summit of Women (2013). In 2014, her alma mater the University of Malaya conferred her an honorary Doctor of Philosophy for her stellar contributions to the country's education and public service. Rasammah Bhupalan was a remarkable citizen of Malaysia and undoubtedly one of the country's outstanding and distinguished women leaders. Caring not for personal comfort, prestige or promotion, she devoted her energy to do what she believed in to be right and proper; for the cultural, educational, and economic betterment of Malaysia. Her emphasis on helping all to excel in education, especially needy students, renewed the ideals of service to level up our socially disadvantaged communities, and, ultimately, to galvanise a progressive Malaysia. Prof Viswanathan Selvaratnam is honorary professor at the Asia-Europe Institute (AEI), Universiti Malaya.
New Paper
21-05-2025
- New Paper
Man fined after his remote controlled plane crashed onto school tennis court near coach
A man who lost control of a remote controlled plane before it crashed onto a Methodist Girls' School (MGS) tennis court, mere metres from a coach, was fined $7,000 on May 20. Ng Tchi Mun, 68, pleaded guilty to one count of operating the unmanned aircraft (UA) in a manner which could endanger another person's property. His UA - a Hangar 9 Pulse 125 weighing around 3.7kg - broke into pieces upon impact, leaving part of the tennis court scratched and cratered. Specifications of this plane model found online state that it is 159cm in length, with a wingspan of 193cm. The crash, which happened on Aug 20, 2023, a Sunday morning, took place around 4m from a tennis coach who was preparing for a 12pm private class. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan said the coach was "completely taken aback" by the UA crashing onto the tennis court and "began shaking in fear at the thought that he could have been harmed". "After he composed himself, he called the MGS facilities manager to report the incident before lodging a police report." The court heard that Ng was operating the UA from an open field in Old Holland Road around 250m away from the MGS sports complex. There were also residential homes in the vicinity. Ng, a Singaporean, held an unmanned aircraft basic training certificate issued on Jan 31, 2021. DPP Tan said: "At about 10.15am, the accused noticed that the wind was getting stronger, so he decided to steer the UA back towards the open field. "The accused estimated that the UA was about 50m away from the sports complex of MGS when he tried to manoeuvre it back to him. He ultimately failed to do so and the wind propelled the UA towards MGS." Ng then lost control of the UA, which crashed onto one of the tennis courts, located on the third floor of the school's sports complex. The coach was walking across the court when it landed about 4m away. Ng arrived at the scene soon after and identified himself as the owner of the UA. The DPP said: "He (later) agreed to pay the repair cost of $410.40 when presented with the quotation from MGS' contractor." On Dec 1, 2023, MGS proceeded with the repairs under its facilities refurbishment plan, and Ng paid the contractor $410.40 a month later. Without revealing details, the DPP said that the payment was later returned to him on Jan 9, 2025. This was not the first case involving a UA that crashed near people. A company was fined $18,000 in April after a drone it was operating crashed into a building in July 2024 while flying towards One-North Residences near North Buona Vista Road. The device fell to the ground just 1m away from two residents and caught fire. The company was convicted on April 1 of operating a drone in a manner that could endanger lives or property.
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Straits Times
Man fined after his remote controlled plane crashed into MGS tennis court near coach
Man fined after his remote controlled plane crashed into MGS tennis court near coach SINGAPORE – A man who lost control of a remote controlled plane before it crashed onto a Methodist Girls' School (MGS) tennis court mere metres from a coach, was fined $7,000 on May 20. Ng Tchi Mun, 68, pleaded guilty to one count of operating the unmanned aircraft (UA) in a manner which could endanger another person's property. His UA – a Hangar 9 Pulse 125 weighing around 3.7kg – broke into pieces upon impact, leaving part of the tennis court scratched and cratered. Specifications of this plane model found online state that it is 159cm in length, with a wingspan of 193 cm. The crash, which happened on a Sunday morning on Aug 20, 2023, took place around 4m from a tennis coach who was preparing for a 12pm private class. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan said the coach was 'completely taken aback' by the UA crashing onto the tennis court and 'began shaking in fear at the thought that he could have been harmed'. 'After he composed himself, he called the MGS facilities manager to report the incident before lodging a police report.' The court heard that Ng was operating the UA from an open field in Old Holland Road around 250m away from the MGS sports complex. There were also residential homes in the vicinity. Ng, a Singaporean, held an unmanned aircraft basic training certificate issued on Jan 31, 2021. DPP Tan said: 'At about 10.15am, the accused noticed that the wind was getting stronger, so he decided to steer the UA back towards the open field. 'The accused estimated that the UA was about 50m away from the sports complex of MGS when he tried to manoeuvre it back to him. He ultimately failed to do so and the wind propelled the UA towards MGS.' Ng then lost control of the UA, which crashed onto one of the tennis courts, located on the third floor of the school's sports complex. The coach was walking across the court when it landed about 4m away. Ng arrived at the scene soon after and identified himself as the owner of the UA. The DPP said: 'He (later) agreed to pay the repair cost of $410.40 when presented with the quotation from MGS's contractor.' On Dec 1, 2023, MGS proceeded with the repairs under its facilities refurbishment plan, and Ng paid the contractor $410.40 a month later. Without revealing details, the DPP said that the payment was later returned to him on Jan 9, 2025. This was not the first case involving a UA that crashed near people in the vicinity. A company was earlier fined $18,000 after a drone it was operating crashed into a building in July 2024 while flying towards One-North Residences near North Buona Vista Road. The device fell to the ground just 1m away from two residents and caught fire. The company was convicted on April 1 of operating a drone in a manner that could endanger lives or property. Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times' court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rasammah Bhupalan, trailblazer for women and education in Malaysia, dies at 98
KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Education pioneer and women's right advocate Datuk Rasammah Bhupalan has passed away at 98, with a wake to be held tomorrow at her Kuala Lumpur home. Her funeral will be held on Thursday at Wesley Methodist Church, Kuala Lumpur, followed by a cremation ceremony at Nirvana Crematorium, Section 21, Shah Alam. A funeral notice issued by the family said that wake and funeral services will be streamed live via Zoom. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to Hospis Malaysia or the YWCA Vocational Training Opportunity Centre — which she founded. At just 16, Rasammah enlisted in the women's wing of the Indian National Army to fight against British rule and was stationed in then Burma before returning to Malaya in 1945 due to malaria. After earning her degree from the University of Malaya in Singapore in June 1953, Rasammah began her teaching journey at Methodist Girls' School in Penang. She also founded the Women Teachers' Union in 1960 and later served as principal of Methodist Girls' School in Kuala Lumpur. She then received the Tokoh Guru award in 1986. She was also a co-founder of the National Council of Women's Organisations. Speaking to Malay Mail, renowned cultural preservationist and former student Eddin Khoo described Rasammah as a guiding force and a figure who truly embodied the spirit of a generation crucial to Malaysia's development. Reflecting on his time as a student at Methodist High School (now Methodist College), Eddin said Rasammah was not just an educator, but a pioneering woman who played an integral part in shaping Malaysia's history. He said that Rasammah's influence was not confined to the classroom as she also became active in politics during the 1998 Reformasi movement, co-founding Parti Keadilan Nasional — which would later merge with Parti Rakyat Malaysia to become PKR. 'I think the most important role she played was that of an educator. Through education, she became central to the lives of many individuals who later went on to contribute significantly to the nation. 'She became headmistress of some of the most respected schools in the country ... She truly lived at the heart of the nation. More importantly, she lived in the hearts of all her students,' he said. Recommended read: Iconic KL teacher soldiers on for women's rights
New Straits Times
13-05-2025
- General
- New Straits Times
Education pioneer Rasammah Bhupalan dies at 98
KUALA LUMPUR: Education pioneer and veteran social activist Datuk Rasammah Bhupalan passed away today at the age of 98. According to a family obituary, a wake will be held at her residence tomorrow evening, with visiting hours scheduled from 10.30am to 1.30pm and 5.30pm to 8pm prior to the wake. The funeral service will take place on Thursday at Wesley Methodist Church. Rasammah leaves behind three children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Her journey of activism began at 16, when she and her sister, Ponnammah, joined the women's wing of the Indian National Army to fight British colonial rule. She had served in the then Burma (now known as Myanmar) before returning two years later to continue her education. Subsequently, Rasammah went on to earn a degree from the University of Malaya in Singapore in 1953 and began her teaching career at Methodist Girls' School in Penang. Rasammah became an advocate for women's rights in 1957, after the Education Ministry rolled out the Unified Teaching Service Scheme, which institutionalised wage discrimination against women. She founded the Women Teachers' Union in 1960 and was a co-founder of the National Council of Women's Organisations, making her a trailblazer in Malaysia's women's rights movement. She later served as principal of Methodist Girls' School here and, in recognition of her lifelong contributions to education, was honoured with the Tokoh Guru award in 1986.
