First Malaysian woman elected to public office passes away, aged 100

PETALING JAYA: Devaki Krishnan, the first woman to be elected to public office in Malaysia, has died. She was 100.

Her death was confirmed by her grandson, Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives minister R Ramanan.

"She died of old age at her home around 8pm," he said.

Ramanan, who was also the PKR MP for Sungai Buloh, said the family was discussing the details of her funeral.

Devaki, who until her death was the longest-serving MIC member, won a seat on the municipal council in Kuala Lumpur in 1952. She also won the Bangsar seat that year.

In 2020, she told FMT her interest in politics was sparked by two women winning seats in elections in Sri Lanka and Singapore, which was practically unthinkable in those days.

She was later recruited into the multiethnic Independence of Malaya Party by Onn Jaafar.

Devaki, who was born in Port Dickson, contested for the Sentul seat in 1959 under the Alliance ticket, but lost.

As a member of the civil defence, she took charge of the medical clinic at Merdeka Stadium during the May 1969 riots, when she was recalled to care for some 3,500 riot victims and the homeless.

Devaki also played a pivotal role in pushing for amendments to the Guardianship of Infants Act in 1999 to allow single mothers to care for their children.

She was also the first Indian woman to drive a car in the capital city, and was married to P Krishnan, who died in 1998.