KUALA LUMPUR – One of the nation’s earliest champions of women’s rights, Puan Sri Sukumari Sekhar, passed away last night – poignantly on International Women's Day.
The mother of Petra Group chairman and group chief executive Datuk Dr Vinod Sekhar, Sukumari was 87.
She passed away at Cardiac Vascular Sentral Kuala Lumpur at about 11.20pm yesterday evening (March 8).
She leaves three other children – Jayan, Sujatha and Gopinath; daughters-in-law Bina, Rekha, and Dr Winy Sekhar; son-in-law Dipak Naik, as well as eight grandchildren.
Sukumari was the wife of the late Tan Sri Dr BC Sekhar, the former Rubber Research Institute chairman, affectionately known as Mr Natural Rubber, who revolutionised the nation’s rubber and palm oil industries.
Her steady demeanour is widely regarded as the driving force behind BC’s work.
Sukumari however was accomplished in her own right as the founding deputy president of the National Council of Women's Organisations.
She was also a fierce advocate for the rights and welfare of children, including fighting for the rights of children born out of wedlock.
This also includes petitioning the government into granting them the same proprietary and inheritance rights as other children of the respective parents.
In October 2012, Sukumari received the Anugerah Tokoh Wanita Award in conjunction with the National Women’s Day celebrations from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Sukumari’s wake and funeral will be held from 11am to 2pm today at Loke Yew Crematorium in Shamshan Bhoomi Parbandak Society (Selangor and Federal Territory), Lots 214 and 215, Jalan Loke Yew, Kuala Lumpur. – The Vibes, March 9, 2021
