13-05-2025
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.
