Gerakan leaders mourn loss of a true Malaysian

PETALING JAYA: Gerakan leaders described the death of vice-president Senator Dr S. Vijayaratnam as the loss of a true Malaysian – someone who did his best to promote the spirit of muhibbah and racial integration.

Party adviser Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik said Dr Vijayaratnam’s most enduring and memorable trait was his ability to mix around.

“We are proud to have had a leader like him. He got on well with everyone, be they leaders or ordinary people,” he said yesterday.

He said Dr Vijayaratnam spent his own money travelling around the country all these years and this dedication helped him get elected as vice-president for three consecutive terms.

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the former Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry parliamentary secretary was a dedicated and loyal party leader since 1980.

“My colleagues and I are extremely shocked and saddened by the sudden demise of our vice-president. We have lost a committed comrade and close friend,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Party deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Yuan, who shared more than two decades of friendship with Dr Vijayaratnam, said Dr Vijayaratnam was a true Malaysian “who always talked, and argued, for Malaysians using the Malaysian perspective.”

Wanita chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe said she would miss Dr Vijayaratnam’s humility most of all.

“He never showed himself as a snobbish leader. It is shocking be- cause I just sat beside him at the Gerakan Deepavali open house last Sunday,” she said.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the death was a great loss for the party as well.

“He was a very mild-mannered person, easy-going and well res- pected. Gerakan has lost a capable leader. He served the Government well.

“I knew him very well and he worked closely with MIC.

“It’s a great loss for us too,” he said.

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This post was written by CALD