KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 – The late Datin Paduka A. Mangalam Iyaswamy Iyer, better known as Mother Mangalam, was a moving force behind Malaysia’s first participation in the International Day of Peace celebration that was held on Sept 21, 2001, said a voluntary worker, Thavamani Kesavan.
As the life president of the Pure Life Society, she worked with several other organisations to ensure the smooth running of the celebration that saw the participation of various inter-faith organisation members in a Peace convoy that travelled to Taiping from Kuala Lumpur and back to the Dataran Merdeka in the city.
At the Dataran Merdeka, various activities were held including the screening of a video presentation of Global Peace Ambassador Prem Rawat’s talks on peace, said Thavamani who recalled the strong, yet soft spoken presence of Mangalam and her determination to promote peace and harmony.
She was most touched by the words of peace that Prem Rawat spoke and made it possible to get his talks shown on the screen of Dataran Merdeka, which was sponsored by the Dewan Bandaraya, Thavamani said.
“I saw her as a national treasure, with her ability to bring together people from various religious, racial and cultural backgrounds. She will be greatly missed by all the people whose hearts she had touched including the orphans and underprivileged children who had grown up under her care at the Pure Life Society’s homes.”
Mangalam, also known as the Mother Theresa of Malaysia, died at 3.52pm on Saturday at the age of 97.
Mangalam, who had celebrated her 97th birthday only recently (May 20th), was conferred the Kesatria Mangku Negara from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2003 and Pingat Jasa Kebangsaan from the Sultan of Selangor in 1955.
Mangalam was also honoured with the Tun Fatimah Gold Medal from the National Council of Women’s Organisations in 1977.
The funeral rites and prayers will be held beginning at 9am, Monday June 12th at the multipurpose hall of the Pure Life Society before the cortege leaves for the Loke Yew Hindu Crematorium at 12 noon.
For more details, please call Sumathi at 012-6396505 or Geetha at 016-2175078.
–WE