Malaysian Indians Who Made Us Proud In 2020!

There’s a gazillion things that we tend to complain about, but deep down Malaysia is our homeland; it’s here that we belong!

This has been a year for our Malaysian to sit up and take pride in their identity, as notable Indians have achieved great achievements in their respective fields.

I’m always pleasantly surprised when I read Malaysian Indians making headlines in newspapers and digital platforms. This year alone, many had made Malaysia proud by being a success in their respective fields and trades.

To be frank, we are fortunate to have people here in Malaysia who make the best headlines and make us stand tall in the eyes of the world.

Here are some of the shortlisted Malaysian Indians who have certainly left us in awe and scrolling through this article is definitely worth your time.

Suriakala Suriabagavan; The First Non-Bumiputera Female With A Two Star Rank On Her Epaulette

Brigadier-General Suriakala Suriabagavan has made history by being the first non-Bumiputera female army officer to get the coveted two-star rank on her epaulette. She was promoted to major-general at a ceremony in conjunction with the 87th Army Day in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Suriakala joined the Armed Forces in December 1981 and her coursemates included deputy Army chief Lieutenant-General Hasagaya Abdullah. She has a double Masters degree in management from University of Malaya, and social science (defense studies) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Shantini Theva; Honorary Doctorate Receiver From Tamil Nadu University

The Malaysian actress who acted in Nadodigal has earned the Honorary doctorate award from Global Peace University, Tamil Nadu, India. The 35-year-old who hails from Banting made headlines when she played the antagonist in the award-winning movie Nadodigal. After the stupendous success of the movie, she had become a part of the Indian film industry.

Sangeeta Retnakumar; Gold Medalist For Ice Skating Institute (ISI) 

The 12-year-old has won five gold medals in the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) Asia Final Championship Series in Bangkok. Sangeetha, who represented Sunway Pyramid Ice Academy has won in the Freestyle 4, Solo Comp F4, Footwork F4, Open FS Silver and Drama Sport FS4 events. She was part of the Malaysian national team in Skate Asia 2020 in August, and Skate Hong Kong in November. Her biggest dream is to join the winter Olympics. 

Lieutenant Lohappriya Manisegaran; The first Indian Lady Pilot in Malaysia

Lohappriya is the first Indian lady to become a pilot of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). The Klang born is among the 38 trainees who will serve in three divisions of the Malaysian Armed Forces, namely RMAF, the army, and the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM). 

She also successfully completed her degree at Pertahanan National Malaysia University back in 2018 (UPNM). She received the honours from the Yang-di Pertuan Agong XV, Sultan Muhammad V at the Royal accreditation parade ceremony and recognition of certificates of cadet officers and ATM graduate officers at Dataran Panglima Tentera Darat, Kem Perdana Sungai Besi.

Subashan Vadibeler; Awarded With Reputable Rhodes Scholarship

Subashan,  24 year-old medical student has been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford.

The Ipoh born is also a known blogger who blogs at the ASASI Human Rights & Activism site. He will be heading to the United Kingdom in 2021 and pursue his two master’s degrees namely a Master’s degree in International Health and Tropical Medicine and a Master’s degree in Applied Immunology Research at the renowned and prestigious university. 

Corporal Krishnamoorthy Letchumanan; The Airman Of Year 2020 In The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)

Corporal Krishnamoorthy A/L Letchumanan has won the Airman Of The Year 2020 in the Materiel Technician Course series 150/20, among other officers; Sjn U Azhar bin Abdul Halim, Kpl U Khairul Amri bin Keria, and LU I Muhamad Fazrin Tasnim bin Abdul Malek.

The Ceremony of Materiel Management and Warehouse Management Course series 96/20, Transportation Operations Management Course series 29/20, Materiel Technician Course series 150/20 and Materiel System Introduction Course series 14/20 which was held at INSMAT Auditorium.

Datuk Sudha Devi KR Vasudevan; The First Malaysian And Asian Chair Of Commonwealth Foundation

Datuk Sudha Devi KR Vasudevan, the former High Commissioner of Malaysia to Australia has been appointed as Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for a two-year term starting 1st January next year. Previously, she was the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Federative Republic of Brazil, who also held numerous diplomatic positions in Germany, Singapore and Switzerland.

While serving with the Foreign Ministry, Sudha Devi was the then deputy director-general for the ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat and director-general of the Department of Policy Planning and Coordination, undersecretary for the East Asia Division.

Dr Dharminy Thurairatnam; affectionately known As The Malaysian Doctor Who Saved An  Australian Patient From Forming A New Covid-19 Cluster In Adelaide

Dr Dharminy Thurairatnam, who hails from Klang, has been acknowledged by South Australia’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr Nicola Spurrier for discovering coronavirus symptoms in an elderly woman. The doctor graduated from medical school in 2006 and previously worked in hospitals in Penang and Singapore before moving to Adelaide last year. Furthermore, she has not seen her husband who works in a Singapore hospital and her two sons since the international borders were closed in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Datuk Sasikala Devi Subramaniam; The First Indian Female Police Officer Promoted To Deputy Police Commissioner

The lady hero well known for her bold and brave action for leading the police raid team on former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s home over the 1MDB inquiry has now been promoted to Deputy Police Commissioner (DCP) on 19th November 2020. Currently, she occupies the rank of Chief Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation and Finance at the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department.

S.Kisona & M.Thinaah; Qualified For The Thomas And Uber Cup Finals

Malaysia has definitely gained international recognition in the badminton arena over the years, producing the likes of Datuk Lee Chong Wei and many more. S Kisona and M Thinaah were among the big names who qualified for the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals which is slated to be held in Aarhus, Denmark from October 3rd to 11th. Interestingly, this happens to be the very first time for Thinaah to make it to the prestigious event, while Kisona on the other hand debuted at the 2018 Uber Cup in Bangkok. Oh, how proud we are of them!

Sivasanghari; Royal Scholarship Receiver To Pursue Passion In Aerospace Engineering

Sivasanghari is one such scintillating young woman who is among the 11 outstanding recipients who were given the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship (BYDPA) for the 2020/2021 session. Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has awarded the prestigious scholarship to Sivasanghari to pursue her studies in Aerospace Engineering at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Yugendran Rajaendran; Set To Become Part Of The Prestigious California-based Stanford University’s Class of 2024

Needles to say, the fresh graduate from Epsom College (ECM), pursued his A-levels after obtaining a Tune Libra scholarship from ECM Libra Foundation. He is finally getting to live his childhood dream by earning himself a spot at one of the top universities in the world. The 20-year-old plans to pursue a double degree in Bioengineering and Mathematical and Computational Science. 

He applied to 15 different top global universities and got accepted into 10 of those universities, which included the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), New York University (NYU), Columbia University, Yale University, Carnegie Melon University and King’s College London.

Prevena Ramakrishnan & Priyanka Vairavasundaram; Honoured With The Diana Award

Prevena Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Vairavasundaram were among the 184 young people who were honoured with the UK’s Diana Award. The most outstanding and inspirational  young minds have been recognised internationally for driving selfless change into their local communities.

The Diana Award is one of the most prestigious acknowledgments given to young people as Princess Diana believes that they have the power to change the world. It’s a formal way to recognise young people who made a great deal of difference in their respective communities.

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