KUALA LUMPUR: The passing of economist and academic Prof Datuk Dr Madeline Berma today has been mourned by members of the economics fraternity, the academic community, and alumni of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
News of the passing of the Sarawak Economic Action Council member was shared earlier via Facebook posts by the UKM Alumni Relations Centre and the director of the Malaysian Inclusive Development and Advancement Institute (MINDA-UKM), Prof Tan Sri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali.
In conveying his condolences, Noor Azlan, who is also a former UKM vice-chancellor, described her passing as a significant loss, noting that she was an academic who was deeply committed to her cause.
"I have lost a friend and a scholar who championed human rights, particularly poverty eradication. Her contributions to the country were significant.
"She was a respected retired academic of UKM and a distinguished UKM alumna,” he said in his post today.
Madeline, 64, obtained her Bachelor of Economics degree from UKM in 1982 and later completed her Master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States, in 1986.
She went on to earn her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Hull, England, in 1997.
With 35 years of academic experience, she held various positions during her tenure at UKM, including serving as the director of the Tun Fatimah Hashim Women’s Leadership Centre from 2011 to 2016.
Madeline was also appointed as a Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) commissioner in 2019, and was a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia as well as an Honorary Fellow of the Institut Masa Depan Malaysia.
Her publications and research largely focused on development economics, encompassing poverty, inequality, rural development, women’s development, and marginalised communities. - Bernama
