A KIND AND CARING ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON

Sivananthan, (Class of 1961, HSC) had parents who were strict disciplinarians.  His father was a Telecoms Engineer and his mother a housewife and their emphasis was on academic excellence and discipline. As his father was a friend of the then principal, Mr Mori, young Siva had to tow the line. This was because his father kept a constant watch on what was happening in school and so it comes as no surprise that while he was in MBS, he had no discipline problems and was not reprimanded by the teachers or the principal. His noteworthy achievement was when he was one of the 6 students in MBS who obtained a Grade 1 in his MCE back then.

Dato’ Siva has many fond memories of his school days as he maintained a balance between academic and co-curricular activities where he represented the school for table tennis and athletics. Dato’ remembered clearly some of the teachers who had impacted him while in MBS – Mr Oman and Mr Archutan (expatriate teachers from India), Mr Heng Hing and Mrs Rasammah Bhupalan who taught Physics, Chemistry, Maths and General Paper respectively. Mrs Rasammah was eventually promoted to become the Principal of Methodist Girls School KL and also became a social activist. Now she is better known as Datuk Rasammah Bhupalan. Dato’ is grateful to all his teachers who taught him well, as during his days, most children never attended any tuition classes. This advantage helped the students to excel later in life. Among his many high achieving classmates was Dr Retnasingam who had a doctorate in Physics and later became the Dean of a medical college in Penang.

Dato’ performed well in medical school and won the government scholarship to pursue his post-graduate in England where he won the prestigious Norman Roberts Medal for the Best M. Ch. Orthopaedic Thesis in 1975. Since then he has presented many scientific papers both locally and internationally. His active participation was recognised globally when he was chosen to be the President of the Malaysian Orthopaedic Association, ASEAN Orthopaedic Association, Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association, World Society for Endoscopic, Navigated and Minimal Invasive Spine Surgery and Asia Pacific Spine Society.

Despite his busy schedule, Dato’ also embarked on many charity projects to help the poor and needy. He led a team of doctors to perform operations to help the victims who were affected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka in February 2005 and he has been the President of the Society to Educate Marginalized Children since 2012. His social and philanthropic activities were recognised and he was conferred the title of Dato’ Paduka Mahkota Perak in 1996.

For someone who is turning 77 this year and has walked through the corridors of MBS, helped the medical fraternity in the country develop (especially in orthopaedic), is recognised globally for his contributions in presenting many academic papers and has helped the poor and needy, Dato’ Sivananthan has a few words of advice for our students. They are:

1. Pay attention to your teachers
2. Take part in some curricular physical activities – A healthy body means a healthy mind
3. Learn to mix with your friends and not be influenced by negative thoughts and extremist views
4. Have an ambition and try to achieve it by first doing well in school.

All the best Dato’ Siva in your future endeavors and may you continue to be a blessing to others. Ora et Labora!

                                                                                                written by Gan Swit Peng                                                                                                                        28/05/20