D. S. Ramanathan
D. S. Ramanathan | |
|---|---|
டி. எஸ். ராமநாதன் | |
| 1st Mayor of George Town | |
| In office 1958–1959 | |
| Mayor of George Town (2nd Term) | |
| In office 1959–1960 | |
| President of Malaya National Union of Teachers | |
| In office 1959–1962 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 December 1908 Jafna, British Ceylon |
| Died | 1973 Kuala Lumpur |
| Nationality | Malaysian |
| Political party | Malaysian Indian Congress (November 1963-) Labour Party of Malaya (1953-4 June 1963) |
| Spouse | Ruth Vanniasingham |
D. S. Ramanathan (Tamil: டி. எஸ். ராமநாதன்) was a Malaysian politician, teacher, unionist, Malayan Army and educationist of Ceylonese origin. He was a member as well as chairman of the Labour Party of Malaya, and subsequently joined the Malaysian Indian Congress.[1] Besides that, Ramanathan also served as the first mayor for the city of George Town, and is credited for his pioneering efforts to set up a university in Penang.[2][3]
The idea of a university in Penang was first mooted by him in 1959 in the State Assembly and later crystallised when he was nominated chairman of the Penang University Project committee.
The Universiti Sains Malaysia opened in 1969 and is today one of the leading tertiary institutions of learning in Malaysia.
Early life
[edit]D. S. Ramanathan was born to a Sri Lanka Tamil family. He later married to Ruth Vanniasingham. D.S Ramanathan work as teacher on early days before joining politics.[4]
He joined the Labour Party of Malaya and when in 1956, George Town was the first municipality in the Federation of Malaya to have a fully elected council, he became active in that arena. His time as the mayor of George Town lasted from 1958 to 1960.[5]
The former teacher, who began his career in Perak, was also concurrently the president of the National Union of Teachers from 1959 to 1962 as well as vice-president of the Malayan Teachers National Congress from 1961-1962.[6]
During that period, he was also an active member of the National Joint Council of Teachers. Even, after finishing his term as mayor, he was appointed as the headmaster of the Penang Pykett Methodist School.
In 1963, Ramanathan levelled allegations of malpractice and misconduct against members of the George Town council, and this triggered his departure from the Labour Party. He first became an indenpendent politician before joining MIC.[7]
His son John passed away in 1970 and DS Ramanathan himself died in 1973 in Kuala Lumpur.[8]
His wife Ruth passed away in December 2015. At the time his surviving children were David, Sarojini Ruth, Peter and Lakhshmi Lucy.[9]
Memorials
[edit]D. S. Ramanathan Road
[edit]Scott Road, a small road off Air Rajah Road, has been renamed in honour of Ramanathan.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Prabu, Naveen (16 September 2023). "D S Ramanathan: Penang's socialist mayor, pioneer educationist". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ "George Town's first mayor a fiery man".
- ^ "The controversy behind Jalan D S Ramanathan | Free Malaysia Today". Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "The Snuffing Out of Local Democracy in Malaysia". m.aliran.com. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ https://m.aliran.com/archives/monthly/2000/04h.html
- ^ https://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2013/10/05/George-Towns-first-mayor-a-fiery-man/
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150701041517/http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/06/18/the-controversy-behind-jalan-d-s-ramanathan/
- ^ "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ "Wife of George Town's first mayor laid to rest". The Star. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
- ^ "Map of Scott Road (Jalan D.S. Ramanathan), Penang".
- Malaysian politicians of Indian descent
- 1973 deaths
- Malaysian trade unionists
- Malaysian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent
- Malaysian politicians of Tamil descent
- Malaysian Christians
- Malaysian socialists
- Malaysian political party founders
- Labour Party of Malaya politicians
- Members of the Penang State Legislative Assembly
- 1908 births