A pioneer in Malaysian education

PERHAPS not known to many Malaysians, Datuk Sir E.E.C. Thuraisingham, better known as Datuk Clough Thuraisingham, was the first local Member for Education in the Communities Liaison Committee (1951–1955). It was formed to build the communal fraternity as a precursor to the establishment of self-government, under the then British-ruled Federation of Malaya.

In that committee, Datuk Onn Ja’afar, the founder of Umno, was the Member for Home Affairs.