Latest news with #S.Shanmugam
The Star
05-07-2025
- Health
- The Star
Trucker with Rh-negative been donating rare blood for 33 years
S. Shanmugam (left) and Beh Zeng Kang. TANJONG MALIM: An accident 34 years ago that befell a lorry driver opened his eyes to saving lives when he started donating blood after discovering that his Rh-negative blood type was rare to find in this country. S. Shanmugam, 54, who has Rh-negative blood, said he has donated blood 54 times and was the largest donor of this rare blood type to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) for the past 33 years. "I was injured in a road accident in 1991, and broke my right leg along with other injuries, but my blood type was very difficult to obtain so the surgery was postponed. "From there I realised that I also needed to become a donor out of a sense of responsibility towards the community in the hope that every drop of blood I donated could save a life,' he said after receiving an award in appreciation of top donors in conjunction with Perak's celebration of 2025 World Blood Donor Day at the Slim River Hospital here on Saturday (July 5). Shanmugam, who lives in Teluk Intan, said he would go to HRPB four times a year to donate blood because it is rare due to the fact that in Malaysia, most people only have Rh-positive blood type, which amounts to more than 90 per cent. The awards were presented by state human resources, health, indian community affairs and national integration committee chairman, A. Sivanesan. Beh Zeng Kang, 29, a legal consultant, was crowned Best Blood Donor for common type of blood in Perak after giving blood 51 times since he was 17 years old. Beh, who has blood type O which is the most common type in Malaysia, said the practice of donating blood has been a routine in his life since he was a teenager with the selfless intention of helping those in need without reward. "I usually donate blood at Teluk Intan Hospital and at other locations through programmes organised by authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), so I definitely donate four times (permissible every three months) a year. "As a Malaysian, I want to contribute according to my ability. As long as I am healthy, I will continue to donate for those in need,' he said. Meanwhile, Sivanesan disclosed that the state has collected more than 64,416 bags of blood throughout the past year through co-hosting of blood donation events with agencies, NGOs, charitable bodies and others. "The majority of blood donors are Chinese at 48.32 per cent, Malays (39.12 pct) followed by Indians (11.40 pct) and others (other races) at 0.76 pct. "The demand for blood bags is also increasing year by year, and it is estimated that blood use in this state can reach 80,000 blood bags per year,' he said. Earlier, Sivanesan also presented special certificates of appreciation to 36 blood donors for their continuous voluntary support to ensure that the supply of life-giving transfusions is sufficient at all times. Appreciation also went out to 15 organisers who won heartfelt recognition for their success in hosting blood donation campaigns consistently, thus successfully recording an encouraging number of donor participation and number of blood bags in Perak.- Bernama
The Sun
05-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Malaysian trucker donates rare Rh-negative blood for 33 years
TANJONG MALIM: A lorry driver's accident 34 years ago led him to a lifelong mission of donating his rare Rh-negative blood, a type difficult to find in Malaysia. S. Shanmugam, 54, has since given blood 54 times, becoming the largest donor of this rare blood type to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB). Shanmugam discovered his blood type's rarity after a 1991 accident delayed his surgery due to a lack of matching donors. 'From there, I realised I needed to become a donor out of responsibility,' he said after receiving an award at Slim River Hospital during Perak's World Blood Donor Day celebration. Living in Teluk Intan, Shanmugam donates four times yearly, as Rh-negative blood makes up less than 10% of Malaysia's blood supply. State Health Committee chairman A. Sivanesan presented awards to top donors, including legal consultant Beh Zeng Kang, 29, who has donated 51 times since age 17. Beh, with the common O blood type, said donating is a routine. 'As long as I'm healthy, I'll keep helping those in need,' he said. Sivanesan noted Perak collected 64,416 blood bags last year, with Chinese donors leading at 48.32%, followed by Malays (39.12%) and Indians (11.40%). The state estimates needing 80,000 blood bags annually. Special certificates were given to 36 donors and 15 campaign organisers for their contributions.
The Hindu
07-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
New TNFA president Shanmugam sets forth his agenda to revive the sport in the State
Former Tamil Nadu football team captain S. Shanmugam, who was elected president of the Tamil Nadu Football Association (TNFA) last Saturday in an election held for the first time since 2014, spoke about his agenda over a phone call on Saturday. 'Every year, the association's registration is to be renewed with the Registrar of Societies under the Societies Registration Act (1860). This hasn't been done for a few years. Thus, the association is unable to receive grants from the SDAT and AIFF. So, my foremost task is to renew our registration,' he said. Claiming that the State championships for all age categories, including the senior category, have been discontinued for several years now, he said that he aims to revive them. 'The probables for the Nationals were selected from those tournaments. Around 40 would be selected first, and 20 would then be shortlisted for a 10-15 day camp for the Nationals. I intend to bring that back into practice. 'For instance, the junior (boys and girls) National football championship is to be held from July 10 to 25. For that, the State championships have been planned to be held for boys in Virudhunagar and for girls in Dindigul from June 20 to 27,' he said. The 62-year-old said that he wants to make it mandatory for the District associations to conduct their annual league, like the Chennai Football Association's senior division league. 'There was this Champions Club Trophy for the District league champions, which has been discontinued for around nine years now. The event helped clubs earn points for entry into the I-League. Consequently, the possibility of our (TN) clubs getting into the I-League has reduced. So, it is to be revived as well,' he added. Saying that he also intends to revive the premier National tournaments of the past across the State — like the Vittal Trophy and TFA Shield in Chennai and the Rockfort Trophy in Tiruchi — by getting into talks with the original sponsors, he added that there is a Super League Kerala-type 'Tamil Nadu Premier Football League' in the pipeline. 'It will have eight teams and will be played in the home-and-away format.' He further stated that a four- or five-member advisory committee will be formed, naming two members: the former CFA senior division league club and I-League champion Chennai City FC owner, Rohit Ramesh, and the Viva Chennai FC (CFA senior division) and Gokulam Kerala FC (I-League) owner, Praveen. Rohit currently also owns a minority stake of the Cambodian Club Angkor Tiger FC.
