Three Honoured For The Betterment Of Tamil Youths

By Ravichandran D.J Paul

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6, 2009 (Bernama) -- Koperasi Nesa Pelbagai Berhad recently honoured three Indians for their social conscience that not only benefited the Indians but also the Malaysian society at large.

The three are from different backgrounds, one an accomplished academician, the other a lawyer and the third a cooperative founder but altruism and compassion had set them on the same path.

They all strived for the betterment of the Indian community by empowering the youths, through education or other avenues.

The three are former Universiti Malaya (UM) academician Datuk Dr M.Thambirajah, lawyer Pasupathy Sithamparam and cooperative chairman Masilamani Ramasamy.

A HUMBLE BEGININING FOR DR THAMBIRAJAH

Born in Penang, Dr Thambirajah started from humble beginnings as a Kirkby trained teacher with his early postings at the Ibrahim Secondary School in Sungai Petani and the Sultan Badlishah Secondary school in Kulim, both in Kedah.

As a teacher, Dr Thambirajah was deeply convinced that education is the foundation for social mobility. He continued with his studies and earned a series of degrees up to PhD and joined UM as an academician.

Those in the secondary school in the early 1980s will remember the history textbook "Malaysia Dalam Sejarah" that he authored, the first from the local perspective. He later went on to read law.

But Dr Tambirajah's defining achievement is the Sri Murugan Tuition Centre (SMC) that he set up to help Indian students. It is a noble undertaking that he started with the assistance of fellow academicians and 48 undergraduates, all members of UM's Tamil Language Society

SMC's initial focus was to prepare students for the STPM examinations to ensure that there were sufficient number of qualified Indian students to enter local varsities.

Now after 26 years, SMC has widened its outreach to students in every public examination starting from UPSR up to STPM and thousands of students have successfully made their way into public higher institutions of learning through SMC.

SMC conducts weekly classes at more than 200 centers nationwide during weekends throughout the year. SMC derives its strength from a dedicated team of volunteers and teachers who guide the students.

PASUPATHY THE GUIDING LIGHT

Pasupathy Sithamparam, born in Batu Arang, received his early education in Batu Arang Tamil School. He furthered his studies in chemical engineering at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia under a Public Services Department scholarship.

Upon graduating in 1983 he started working with the income tax department and in 1987 set off to UK to study law.

Coming from a poor family, he was well aware of the difficulties faced by youths from poor background and thus helping others has become an innate character of Pasupathy.

Pasupathy has learned how an empowering environment can make the difference. He recalls how his parents, teachers and those he knew helped to transform his life for the better.

"Poverty can make you a criminal or a successful person depending the environment that you are in. I was in the empowering environment," he said.

He has been instrumental in drawing attention of the community, social institutions and the government to critical issues faced by the community.

He is committed in improving the standards of Indian students in primary schools and is the president of the Education, Welfare and Research Foundation (EWRF), an organisation that promotes education and the mother tongue through various programmes.

Pasupathy is also one of the trustees for the World Tamil Relief Fund that assists and provides support for the Tamil community all over the world in times of calamities or war.

MASILAMANI'S RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

Born in Dublin Estate in Kulim, Masilamani Ramasamy earned a degree in economics and statistics at UM.

Since his undergraduate days he was concerned over the problems faced by Indian youths and started playing a pro-active role in engaging with the disfranchised segment of the society.

In the early 1970s, as the president of UM's Tamil Language Society, he mobilised Indian undergraduates to participate in the student service corps in estates and rural schools.

The programme exposed undergraduates to the harsh life of the estate workers and the socio-economic woes that they faced. The programme also instilled the spirit of volunteerism among undergraduates to help their unfortunate counterpart.

As youths were central to Masilamani's endeavour, he founded the Koperasi Belia Maju Jaya to generate opportunities for the youths to better themselves.

He also founded the Malaysian Silambam Association to encourage the Indian martial arts sport among youths.

Masilamani is still the chairman of the cooperative that he started to help youths.

Dr Thambirajah, Pasupathy and Masilamani endured with fortitude the odds in their quest to help those marginalised and they will definitely inspire other Malaysians on what it takes to be an altruist.

(BERNAMA)