President Tharman’s mother dies aged 99, survived by 3 children & 4 grandchildren

President Tharman’s mother passed away peacefully at home

The mother of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has died at the age of 99.

Mrs Sarvambikai Shanmugaratnam passed away “in the comfort of home”, according to an obituary published in Obits.sg.

Tharman’s mother cremated soon after her passing

Mrs Shanmugaratnam was cremated soon after she passed on Sunday (19 April) late afternoon, the obituary said.

This was in respect of her “preference in tradition”.

She is survived by three children including Mr Tharman, as well as four grandchildren — the three sons and one daughter of the President and his wife Jane Ittogi.

She also leaves behind two sisters.

President’s Office confirms death

In a statement sent to The Straits Times (ST), the President’s Office confirmed Mrs Shanmugaratnam’s death.

She was cremated in a private observance, it said, adding:

We ask that the family’s privacy be respected during this time.

Mrs Shanmugaratnam was born in KL in 1926

Mrs Shanmugaratnam was born in Kuala Lumpur on 5 July 1926, the fourth of 11 children.

Her parents were Dr A. Viswalingam and Ms Rathnammal Ayathurai — both natives of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

She married Emeritus Professor Kanagaratnam Shanmugaratnam, who founded the Singapore Cancer Registry in 1967 and was Dean of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in the 1960s.

Prof Shanmugaratnam died in 2018 at the age of 97.

“A quiet iconoclast, she always kept her own counsel in holding to a different path, and stood on the side of adventure and independence in life,” wrote the obituary.

Mr Tharman has not posted about his mother’s passing on social media.

Also read: S’pore’s 1st Chief Planner Liu Thai Ker dies aged 87, he built 20 HDB estates

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Featured image adapted from Obits.sg and Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Facebook.