Rasammah Bhupalan (born 1 May 1927), also known as Rasammah Naomi Navarednam or F. R. Bhupalan, is a Malaysian independence and social activist.
Bhupalan has championed causes such as the anti-drug abuse movement, women's rights, education and social justice causes.
Rasammah was one of the earliest women involved in the fight for Malaysian (then Malaya) independence. She joined the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, the women's wing of the Indian National Army, to fight the British. [1] She served in Burma during World War II.
As founder president of the Women Teachers' Union, she fought for equal pay for women teachers and tried to bring disparate teachers' unions under an umbrella.
The former school principal was the first Asian representative of the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession for two successive terms. She was also very active in the National Council of Women's Organisation (NCWO) and Pemadam.
Bhupalan was a teacher in the Methodist Boys School Kuala Lumpur (MBSSKL) from 1959 to 1964 and was the principal of Methodist Girls School Kuala Lumpur (MGSKL) for 14 years from 1969 until she retired in 1982. On 11 November 2007, Mrs. Bhupalan was among the few veteran teachers who were honored at MBSSKL's 110th Anniversary Celebration Dinner. The dinner was specially organized to honour all the former and current teachers of the school.
On 21 November 2006, a book entitled Footprints on The Sands of Time, Rasammah Bhupalan: A Life of Purpose authored by Associate Professor Dr Aruna Gopinath was launched by Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Dr Rais Yatim.
The biography, published with the support of the National Archives, the ministry and NCWO, is about the life of Rasammah seen in a historical context.
Methodist Boys' School, Kuala Lumpur is a semi-government aided Cluster School of Excellence and High Performance School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded in July 1897, making it one of the oldest schools in Malaysia. It is known as MBS and its students are known as MBSians. The school is also known as Horley School, a reference to one of its principals, Rev. William E. Horley, who was responsible for changing and giving the school its present name from the previous name of Anglo-Tamil School. The name Horley School has been widely misunderstood as a reference to marble, which is also called Horley in Chinese, a game that was popular amongst its students then. It is noted for its library, which attracts visits from many other schools.
Tun Dr. Ismail bin Abdul Rahman was a Malaysian politician who served as the second Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from September 1970 to his death in August 1973. A member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), he previously held several ministerial posts.
Shahrizat binti Abdul Jalil is a Malaysian politician who served in the Cabinet of Malaysia as Minister of Women, Family and Community Development from 2009 to 2012. She was the Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai from 1995 to 2008 and subsequently served as a Senator in the Dewan Negara.
Kuala Lumpur is the largest city in Malaysia; it is also the nation's capital. The history of Kuala Lumpur began in the middle of the 19th century with the rise of the tin mining industry, and boomed in the early 20th century with the development of rubber plantations in Selangor. It became the capital of Selangor, later the Federated Malay States, and then Malayan Union, Malaya and finally Malaysia.
Tan Sri Datin Sri Cempaka Kontik Kamariah binti Ahmad scored many “firsts” for women in the co-operative movement, education and politics in Malaysia.
Tan Sri Devaki Ayathurai Krishnan was a Malaysian politician. She became the first woman elected to public office in Malaysia when she won a seat on the Municipal Council in Kuala Lumpur in 1952. She later became a life member of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). She was the grandmother of Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sungai Buloh Ramanan Ramakrishnan.
Tun Fatimah binti Hashim was a Malaysian freedom fighter who later served as a minister in the Malaysian cabinet. Along with her husband, Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusof, they were the first and only couple to both be ministers in the Malaysian cabinet.
Hindu Rights Action Force, better known by its acronym HINDRAF ; is a Hindu-activism right-wing non-governmental organisation (NGO) with its renowned slogan of Makkal Sakti or Kuasa Rakyat translated as People's Power. This organisation began as a coalition of 30 Hindu NGOs committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia.
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih is a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which seeks to reform the current electoral system in Malaysia to improve its democracy by ensuring free, clean and fair elections among other reforms.
Deborah Priya Henry, also known as Priya Emmanuel, is a Malaysian TV host, former model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 but did not make it to the semifinalists round. She was also crowned Miss Malaysia World 2007, and placed in the Top 15 at Miss World 2007.
Saint Mary's School is a public school located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Each student in St. Mary's is also known as a St. Marian.
Caning is used as a form of corporal punishment in Malaysia. It can be divided into at least four contexts: judicial/prison, school, domestic, and sharia/syariah. Of these, the first is largely a legacy of British colonial rule in the territories that are now part of Malaysia, particularly Malaya.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia or ELCM is one of the four Lutheran bodies in Malaysia. It currently has 21 congregations nationwide with a total of 3,650 members.
Methodist College Kuala Lumpur is a private college in Malaysia, established in 1983 by the Methodist Council of Education.
Raja Rajeswari Setha Raman is a Malaysian poet and translator. She is Tamil by ethnicity. She is also a lecturer of the Teacher Education Institute, Malay Language Campus.
Datuk Leelavathi Govindasamy, commonly known as Datuk G. Leela Rama, was a Malaysian politician. She held her last position in the Malaysian Government as the Member of Parliament, Malaysia for the Kapar constituency in Selangor from 1995 to 1999, from the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. She was the First Malaysian Indian Lady to be elected to Parliament of Malaysia. In the 9th General Elections, she won by majority of 18,759 votes.
Noor Hisham bin Abdullah was a Malaysian civil servant as well as breast and endocrine surgeon. He was the Director-General of Health and President of Malaysia Medical Council from March 2013 to his retirement in April 2023. Prior to the appointment, he served as the Deputy Director General of Health (Medical) from February 2008 to March 2013.
Che Halimahton binti Abdul Majid (1920–1980s) was a Malaysian politician. She was the first woman elected to the Federal Legislative Council, serving from 1955 to 1959.
Puan Sri Sukumari Sekhar was a Malaysian women's and children's rights activist. She was the founder and deputy president of Malaysia's National Council of Women's Organizations.