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.