An exemplary civil servant by any measure

THOSE familiar with Malaysia’s industrial development from the early days in the 1960s will be well aware of Datuk N. Sadasivan Pillay. He died yesterday after a brief illness according to a family member; he was 86.

Popularly known as Datuk Sada, he served the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) for a whopping 27 years, from 1968 to 1995.

The son of a Central Electricity Board (now Tenaga Nasional Berhad) clerk and a housewife mother, Datuk Sada was born in Ipoh on Feb 29, 1940, and had eight siblings. He earned the unique distinction of celebrating his birthday only once four years as he was born in a leap year.

After graduating with Universiti Malaya’s second batch of students, Datuk Sada joined the Economic Development Board (EDB) in 1963 in Singapore, when the island state was still a part of Malaya.

Peers often described him as an outstanding officer, and this was exemplified when he was promoted within three years to become head of a division within the EDB. With such a successful career at the EDB, why did he move back to Malaysia?

He reportedly explained: “As everyone knows, in 1965, Singapore separated from Malay-sia and became an independent nation. We were all given an option within five years of that date to become Singapore citizens, failing which, we could still work at the EDB but would not be allowed access to confidential documents. I was not ready to give up my Malaysian citizenship.”

In 1968, Datuk Sado returned to Malaysia and joined the Federal Industrial Development Authority (Fida), Mida’s predecessor.

In 1972, he was sent overseas when he was appointed director of Fida’s first overseas promotion office in Dusseldorf, Germany. He was decidedly successful at the assignment, bringing notable German companies into Malay-sia, many of which are still flourishing.

His talent and intellect caught the government’s attention quickly and within a span of eight years he became Mida’s deputy director-general at the young age of 36. After eight years, he was made director-general in 1984, a post he held until his retirement in 1995.

Upon his retirement, his wealth of experience was tapped by both the private and public sectors, including by Pengurusan Danaharta National Berhad, Malaysian Industrial Develop-ment Finance Berhad, Amanah Merchant Bank Berhad, and Singapore Unit Trust Berhad. He was also a member of the board of directors of Bank Negara Malaysia, from 2000 to 2021.

I knew Datuk Sada as a man with a sharp sense of humour whenever we met around my neighbourhood and chatted. He always had kind words and was complimentary about people. I don’t recall hearing a single negative remark about anyone from him – definitely the hallmark of a noble man.

Rest well, Datuk Sada, you rendered yeoman service to the nation.

BENEDICT LOPEZ

Bangsar Park, Kuala Lumpur