Renowned Psychiatrist Dr Mahadevan Dies At 96

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- National psychiatric figure Tan Sri Dr M. Mahadevan has died of heart and lung complications. He was 96.

According to his carer, Thenagaran, Dr Mahadevan succumbed to his illness, surrounded by family members at his residence in Ukay Heights, Ampang, at about 7.45 pm yesterday.

Thenagaran said Dr Mahadevan had previously been receiving treatment at a private medical centre in Ampang for the past month following heart failure and lung infection.

“He had been unwell for a long time and had previously been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). After his health condition deteriorated, he asked to be taken home,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Thenagaran said members of the public who wished to pay their last respects may do so at the family residence at No. 32, Lorong Lee Hin Neo 1, Ukay Heights, from 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm today and tomorrow.

He said the funeral service will take place on Thursday (June 18), starting at 9.30 am at the same location, before the body is taken to the Sentul Hindu Crematorium at 12 noon.

Dr Mahadevan, regarded as the ‘Father of Modern Psychiatry’ in Malaysia, leaves behind a great legacy in the development of the country's mental health system throughout his more than six decades of involvement in the field.

Dr Mahadevan was the founder and president of the Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) and had served as the government’s chief psychiatrist in the 1980s.

Born on Sept 9, 1929, he received his early education at St John’s Institution, Kuala Lumpur, before completing his medical studies in Bangalore, India, in 1961. He subsequently served at University College Dublin, Ireland.

His contributions to psychiatry, especially in the field of hypnosis, received international recognition when Harvard University named a travel scholarship programme in his honour.

He was also the first Malaysian to be appointed as the president of the Asian Branch of the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine and returned to Malaysia in 1967 at the request of the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, to develop the country’s mental healthcare system.

He also became the first director of the Central Mental Hospital, which was later renamed Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta.

-- BERNAMA