Star : Two brothers who ‘ruled’ Ipoh
Yap Yok Foo
29 January 2002
Two brothers who ‘ruled’ Ipoh
By V.P. SUJATA
IPOH: The Seenivasagam brothers – Sri Pathmanathan (SP) and Dharma
Raja (DR) – who together “ruled” Ipoh at one time are household names
here, at least to the older generation.
The two political giants led the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), an
opposition party then, to victory in the local government elections
and to winning a few parliamentary and state seats in Perak in the
1959 general election.
The dynamic team – comprising SP as the Ipoh Municipal Council
president from 1960 until his death on July 4, 1975, and DR as his
right-hand man – developed Ipoh and took good care of their
ratepayers.
Although SP was the party and council leader, DR was said to be more
dynamic as he was SP’s adviser and the mastermind behind all decisions
made by the council.
While SP held the Menglembu parliamentary seat until 1974, DR was a
Member of Parliament for Ipoh until his death in 1969, at the age of
48.
The Seenivasagam brothers were first and foremost lawyers.
DYNAMIC DUO ... Sri Pathmanathan (left) and Dharma Raja who developed
Ipoh.
SP was an expert in civil matters and DR the criminal lawyer fought
hard mainly to uphold justice and protect people’s rights.
Retired lawyer R.C.M. Rayan, a former Ipoh MP and councillor during
the brothers’ “reign,” recalls two cases handled by DR
One was his defence of a Malayan Communist Party member Lee Meng that
saved her from the gallows.
In gratitude, Lee Meng presented a bicycle to DR before she was
deported to China.
“In another case, DR sought to get justice for a fruit seller who had
been charged by a magistrate for giving him fewer rambutans than he
had he paid for.
“He insisted that the magistrate compensate the seller for the
resulting loss of income.
“This was even after the magistrate had dropped the charges.
“However, higher authorities intervened and managed to stop DR from
proceeding with his intention when they agreed to withdraw charges
against another of his clients.
“That was how powerful DR was as a criminal lawyer. There was no one
who could measure up to his greatness,” said Rayan.
He said the PPP had been so strong that in 1969, it was only two seats
short of forming the state government.
“If DR had still been alive then, we could have won those two seats,”
he said, adding that the PPP’s joining of the Barisan Nasional in 1972
marked the end of the party’s glory and domination of Perak.
The Seenivasagam brothers were born here and had their early education
at the Anderson School.
Later, SP read law at the Middle Temple in London and DR studied law
at the Inner Temple.
Both were admitted to the English Bar.
They practised law together in their father’s firm, S. Seenivasagam &
Sons.
Today, they are remembered through the two roads named after them and
the DR Seenivasagam Park.
Jalan SP Seenivasagam is strategically located between historical
sites like the Ipoh Padang, Royal Ipoh Club and the St Michael’s
Institution while Jalan DR Seenivasagam is located at a residential
area in Shatin Park.
DR Seenivasagam Park, which was the first park of its kind during the
1960s, is located at Jalan Raja Musa Aziz.
As council president, SP was accessible to everyone from the rich to
the poor, and often warned his fellow councillors to buck up and serve
the people well.
Yayasan Sultan Idris Shah chairman Tan Sri V. Jeyaratnam, who used to
appear in court with SP, said the latter always fought fiercely in any
legal matter, sometimes even at the risk of being unpopular.
“I personally know that in championing the liberty of the individual,
he often laboured not for monetary gain nor for his own ego but only
to see that justice was done.
“If ever there was a politician who cared so much for the people at
grassroots level, it was SP
“Such was the people’s love for SP that they gathered on both sides of
the road when his body was taken on a procession along the main roads.
“Chinese women were seen crying and kneeling on the road, praying,
when the hearse passed by,” said Jeyaratnam.
Both brothers, he said, were so close that they called each other
twice a day if either of them were outstation or overseas.
He added that DR’s sudden death in 1969 was the biggest blow to SP
PPP secretary-general A. Ayathurai, who became a member in 1969, said
that under SP’s and DR’s leadership, the Ipoh Municipality brought a
fast pace of development to Ipoh.
He added that they were dubbed “Champions of the Hawkers” for the
liberal nature of the municipal regulations governing them and for the
humane manner in which the rules were enforced.
Among new facilities introduced for the people of Ipoh during their
“reign” were council flats, such as Waller Court and Sungai Pari
Towers, offering low rental for the lower income group.
“The DR Seenivasagam Park, which was one of its kind in the country
then, was started by SP,” said Ayathurai, a current Ipoh city
councillor.
He said he could still remember how SP clung to DR’s portrait and
cried when he lost his Parliamentary seat after the PPP joined Barisan
Nasional.
Ayathurai lamented the fact that there was no one to carry on the
legacy of both brothers, as SP had no children while DR never married.
SP’s widow now lives in Seremban.
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