This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(January 2012) |
Manicasothy Saravanamuttu (died 1970) was a Sri Lankan journalist and diplomat in Malaya. He was the editor of The Straits Echo, Penang (1931–1941), and was credited with 'saving' Penang during Japanese invasion in 1941.
He was born into a prominent Jaffna Tamil family in Ceylon (later Sri Lanka). Manicasothy and his brothers went to St. Thomas' College, Colombo, where they distinguished themselves as cricket players. He won a scholarship to study at St. John's College, Oxford. His father Dr. Saravanamuttu was the family doctor to the young S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, who later became Prime Minister of Ceylon. [1] Manicasothy's eldest brother, Ratnajothi, later known as Sir Ratnasothy Saravanamuttu, was a medical practitioner who became the first elected Mayor of Colombo. He was knighted for staying at his post when the Japanese bombed Colombo on Easter Sunday 1942 and reorganising the public services when the port area was evacuated in the panic that followed the bombing. [2] His fourth brother Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu or P. Sara was Rubber and Tea Controller during the Second World War. He served as president of the Ceylon Cricket Association for about 14 years and the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, also known as the P Sara Oval or Colombo Oval, was named after him. [3]
After retiring from his post at the Ceylon Independent of Sir Marcus Fernando, Saravanamuttu was editor of an independent Penang newspaper The Straits Echo (1931–41) and managing editor of North Malayan Newspapers. [4]
During the Japanese invasion of Malaya in December 1941, bombs were dropped on Penang. As the British had evacuated, Manicasothy took charge of raising the white flag at Fort Cornwallis, thus declaring Penang an 'open city'. He was accompanied by Harold Speldewinde and Gopal, who climbed the flagpole to take the flag down. He became chairman of the Penang Service Committee which had its headquarters at 10 Scott Road. He pressed the Penang Volunteers, who had been left behind with arms, into service to act as Volunteer Police; this was made up largely of the Eurasian Volunteer Company under Capt. Willweber and the Chinese Company. Manicasothy gave orders for saving the rice, clearing away the dead, safeguarding and issuing petrol, and forming the guards to preserve order and prevent looting. For all this, Manicasothy became known as the man who 'saved' Penang at the outbreak of the Japanese invasion. [5] He was interned during the Japanese Occupation.
Manicasothy served as Ceylon's Commissioner in Singapore and Malaya (1950–1957), Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to Indonesia (1954–1957) during which time he was involved in organising the Asian-African Conference, better known as the Bandung Conference, in 1955 and Honorary Consul-General in Bangkok (1958–61). [6]
Manicasothy was known as Mr Saravanamuttu, 'Sara' or 'Uncle Sara'. In Sri Lanka, he had a son Lakshman and a daughter Manorani. Dr. Manorani Saravanamuttu (died 2001) founded the Centre for Family Service (CFS) in Sri Lanka after her son Richard Manic de Zoysa, a well-known journalist, author, human rights activist and actor, was abducted and killed in 1990. In Penang, Manicasothy had two sons Manicam and Jayaratnam who is better known as Dr. Johan Saravanamuttu. [7]
Manicasothy's memoirs entitled The Sara Saga, with a foreword written by Malcolm MacDonald, were originally published in 1970. They were dedicated to his grandson Richard Manic. The memoirs contain Manicasothy's recollections of Tunku Abdul Rahman and Malayan independence.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, in the British Crown Colony of Ceylon, the government of Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka assured the British King and his government of its continued support.
Malaya, then under British administration, was gradually occupied by Japanese forces between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 15 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. The first Japanese garrison in Malaya to lay down their arms was in Penang on 2 September 1945 aboard HMS Nelson.
Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu StadiumColombo Oval or P. Sara or simply PSS is a multi-purpose stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches. The stadium holds 15,000 and hosted its first Test match in 1982. It is named after Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, a former civil servant and first President of the Board of Control for Cricket. The venue is the home ground of the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. The P.Sara Oval hosts one Test match per year in Sri Lanka's summer Test calendar, but lost out to Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in 2011 to host Sri Lanka v Australia Tests.
Cricket was introduced to Sri Lanka in the first quarter of the 19th century, following colonisation of the island by the British. The earliest known match was recorded in 1832 and the earliest first-class one in 1926. The national team has played Test cricket from 1982. The national team has achieved international success by winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup and the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Cricket is played nationwide with Test venues in Colombo, Galle, Kandy and Moratuwa. The country's most notable players include Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Rangana Herath, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas. Administration and governance are performed by Sri Lanka Cricket, which was founded in July 1922 as the Ceylon Cricket Association (CCA). The main domestic competition is the Premier Trophy which attained first-class status in 1988.
Tamil Union Cricket & Athletic Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They play their home games at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium.
Borella is the largest suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka represented by divisional code 8.
Kaarthigesar Ponnambalam Ratnam was a Sri Lankan Tamil academic, politician and Member of Parliament.
Sir Hilarion Marcus Fernando, FRCP was a pre-independence Ceylonese statesman, physician and banker. He was a member of both the executive council and legislative council, as well as the chairman of the State Mortgage Bank of Ceylon.
Sir Ratnasothy Saravanamuttu was a Ceylon Tamil physician, politician and the first Mayor of Colombo.
Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu was a Ceylonese civil servant and sports administrator.
Lieutenant Colonel Sabdharatnajyoti "Thambirajah" Saravanamuttu, MBE was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician, military officer, cricketer and sports administrator.
Luisa, Lady Naysum Saravanamuttu was a Ceylonese politician. She was the second female member of State Council of Ceylon and the second elected female legislator in Sri Lanka.
Senator Edward Wilmot Kannangara, (1894-19??) was a Ceylonese civil servant and statesman. He served as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Local Government and a member of the Senate of Ceylon.
Edward Frederick Noel Gratiaen, was a Ceylonese lawyer and judge. He was a former Attorney General of Ceylon and puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon.
The Ceylon Morning Leader was an English language daily newspaper in Ceylon. In 1907 the De Soysa family bought the proprietary rights of the defunct Ceylon Standard and started publishing the Ceylon Morning Leader. Ownership of the newspaper later passed to a syndicate comprising W. A. de Silva, C. E. A. Dias, Charles Peiris and James Peiris. De Silva later became the sole owner.
The Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps, also known as Penang Volunteer Corps and Penang Volunteer Rifle was a militia unit in Malaya. It was established on 1 March 1861 and together with Singapore Volunteer Corps and Malacca Volunteer Corps, they were a part of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF). The Penang Volunteer Rifle was the 3rd Battalion SSVF while Singapore is 1st and 2nd Battalion SSVF and Malacca was the 4th Battalion SSVF. After the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, the Penang Volunteer Rifle became the oldest military unit established in Malaysia.
Saravanamuttu is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
The Tuanku Syed Putra Building is an office building in George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. Completed in 1962, the building, situated at Downing Street within the city's Central Business District (CBD), is owned by the Malaysian federal government and accommodates the Penang General Post Office (GPO). It once served as the seat of the Penang state government and, until 1966, was the tallest building in George Town.