IPOH: Retired educationist Datuk Seri N. S. Selvamany died this morning in his house here from old age.

He was 93.

Former students will fondly remember Selvamany, who was a Sixth Form teacher at SM Anderson, because he kept in touch with them years after they left school.

His death was confirmed by a member of Dewan Negara Perak (the Advisory Council to the Ruler), Datuk Seri Annuar Zaini, a former student.

Among Selvamany's better-known students are Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, former Chief Justice Tun Eusoff Chin and former Singapore Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong.

When contacted Annuar said he had sent a basket of fruits to his beloved teacher a few days before Deepavali because it had become difficult for Selvamany to receive guests in the last few years.

Annuar said when his mother passed away in 1997, Selvamany was there at the funeral, giving him strength.

The following year, Annuar’s father passed on, and again, Selvamany was right there for him.

“He attended my wedding, my wedding anniversary do, as well as other functions I hosted.

“When my daughter got married in December 2016, he was a little weak to attend the wedding, but I made sure that my daughter and son-in-law went to visit him at his house.

“Then when my son got married in Sept last year, we wanted to visit him as well, but his caretaker advised us against it due to his low level of immunity, ” he added.

Annuar said when Selvamany became the principal of SMK Idris Shah in Gopeng, 90% of his students were from poor backgrounds.

“Before the start of examinations, he used to pray at a church, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist Temple, and even stood outside a mosque, praying to God for his students to pass the exams, ” he added.

Selvamany, who hailed from Batu Gajah, was also a former schoolmate and close friend of the late Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.

They studied together at the Government English School (now known as SM Sultan Yussuf) in Batu Gajah.

Selvamany’s grandfather, K. Malaiperumal Pillay, started the school in his own house in Batu Gajah. But when the number of children grew, he built a wooden school and handed it over to the government in 1909.

Selvamany was an economics teacher in SM Anderson, Ipoh, for 20 years before becoming a principal in two schools in Gopeng.

He was also named Tokoh Guru Perak and Tokoh Guru Kebangsaan in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

Another of his former students, Prof Dr Rokiah Talib wrote a biography on him with the title “More Than A Teacher”.

The biography was a special project undertaken by a group of former SM Anderson Ipoh students from the class of 1962/63.

When contacted, Rokiah said, “We just lost a man, a teacher no dictionary can describe.

“He is truly More Than a Teacher. Yes his subject was economics, the best any student can get.

“But more than that, he taught us to live, love and to care beyond colour and creed, ” she said, adding that he would be dearly missed.