A Son of Perak, Asia's Fastest Runner in 1966

Tan Sri Dr. Mani Jegathesan was the first athlete in Malaysia to receive the National Sportsman Award in 1966. This award was a recognition from the National Sports Council for his outstanding achievements that year. He was also the first Malaysian athlete to win medals in at least four international sporting events during that period.

Among the international sporting events he won at that time are as follows:

• Gold medal in the 100-meter event at the Asian Games in Jakarta in 1962.
• 3 gold medals in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4x100-meter relay events at the Bangkok Asian Games in 1966.
• Qualified for the 200-meter final at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964.
• Qualified for the final at the Kingston Commonwealth Games in 1966.

Here is a brief introduction for all you orangperak.com readers to get to know Tan Sri Dr. Mani Jegathesan better. For your information, Tan Sri Dr. Mani Jegathesan was born on November 2, 1943, in Kuala Kangsar, Perak. He received his early education at Batu Road Primary School in Kuala Lumpur between 1950 and 1954. He continued his secondary education at the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur in 1955 and at the Anglo Chinese School in Singapore from 1956 to 1961.

To pursue his university studies, he attended the University of Singapore from 1962 to 1967 and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.). He also obtained a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from Bangkok in 1969 and a Diploma in Clinical Pathology in 1971 from the University of London. He began his service as a Houseman at the General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, from 1967 to 1968.

Subsequently, Tan Sri Dr. Mani Jegathesan continued as a Trainee Pathologist at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Kuala Lumpur, from 1968 to 1970, and later became the Head of the Serology Division at the same institute in November 1971. In the same month, he was appointed Head of the Bacteriology Division from 1971 to 1985. After that, he was appointed Head and Consultant Bacteriologist at the Laboratory Services Department at the General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. He returned to the IMR as Director and Consultant Bacteriologist from 1988 to 1993, and his final position was as Deputy Director-General of Health (Research and Technical Support) under the Ministry of Health Malaysia from December 16, 1993, until his retirement.

In the field of athletics, he was the national record holder for the 100-meter event with a time of 10.38 seconds and the 400-meter event with a time of 46.3 seconds. His outstanding achievement in the 100-meter event in 1966 established him as the fastest runner in Asia. However, his record was broken by Watson Nyambek during the 6th Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Kuantan, Pahang, in 1996 with a time of 10.31 seconds.

1966 was a historic year for him as he was chosen as the first person to receive the National Sportsman Award. He also received the Asia Amateur Athletic Award as one of the six best Asian athletes of all time and the Veterans Award by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (1993). After retiring from athletics, he continued to contribute as a medical advisor for the Malaysian Amateur Athletic Union and the Asian Amateur Athletic Association.

He was awarded the Dato' Paduka Mahkota Perak by the Sultan of Perak in 1992, which carries the title 'Dato''. Additionally, he received the National Science Award in 1995 for his success in discovering a type of bacteria in 1993, which was named after him: Bacillus thuringiensis serovar jegathesan. We, the representatives from orangperak.com, are proud of the achievements of this son of Perak, who has not only brought honor to the state of Perak but also to Malaysia on the world stage. Perhaps you didn't know, another woman from Perak was also

the first person to receive the National Sportswoman Award

.