D.S. Ramanathan

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. 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.

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.

Biography D. S. Ramanathan was born to a Sri Lanka Tamil family. He later married to Ruth Vanniasingham. He worked as a teacher prior to entering politics.

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.

He was also elected to the Sungai Pinang state constituency in 1959. However he lost narrowly in his bid to enter Parliament, being defeated by 258 votes by Umno's Ismail Idris in Penang Selatan.

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 leveled 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 independent politician before joining MIC later in the year. In 1964, he defended his Sungai Pinang state seat, albeit representing MIC.

His son John died in 1970 and DS Ramanathan himself died in 1973 in Kuala Lumpur.

His wife Ruth died in December 2015. At the time his surviving children were David, Sarojini Ruth, Peter and Lakhshmi Lucy.

Memorials

D. S. Ramanathan Road Scott Road, a small road off Air Rajah Road, has been renamed in honour of Ramanathan.

Election results + Parliament of the Federation of MalayaYearConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout1959P035 Penang Selatan D. S. Ramanathan (LPM)9,56342.83%Ismail Idris (UMNO)9,82143.99% 22,328 258 72.72%Omar Long (PMIP)2,58511.58%Mansor (Independent)3591.61%

+ Penang State Legislative AssemblyYearConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout1959S15 Sungai PinangD. S. Ramanathan (LPM)2,991 55.34%P.U David (MIC)1,70231.49% 5,405 1,289 70.49%Abdul Jalil (Negara)64311.90%1964D. S. Ramanathan (MIC)4,236 47.25%Omar Bin Othman (PRM)3,12034.80% 8,9661,116 83.66%Lee Sinn Boon (UDP)1,38515.45%