36
personality
The Multi-Faceted
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Azlanii
Dr. M. Mahadevan
Dr. Andrew Mohanraj Chandrasekaran
amohanraj@perdanauniversity.com.my
Life Member MMA
Assoc. Prof. of Psychiatry,
Perdana University Graduate School of
Medicine, Perdana University
“No Sunday, No Monday, No birthday“
said
Professor Castairs to young Mahadevan who was on his
way to work under Professor John Dunn at the University
College Dublin. Mahadevan’s hard work and single minded
devotion to his chosen field of study was the foundation to
his eventual illustrious career in psychiatry that spanned
continents.
He went on to become the one of the earliest psychiatrists
in the country and the first president of the Malaysian
Psychiatric Association. He introduced innovative ideas in
community psychiatry which were far ahead of his time but
which won accolades in the international arena. Mahadevan
was also known for his flamboyant lifestyle. Many would
attest that this included his love for fast horses, fast cars
and fast women, not necessarily in that order!
I met Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Azlanii Dr. Mahadevan last week at
his posh residence in Ukay Heights . I was ushered into his
library which was adorned by pictures of him with famous
world leaders, royalty, spiritual figures and of course at
the pride of place were photographs of his mother and
his “Obasan”. I had always known that this Obasan or
Japanese adopted grandmother was a great influence
in Mahadevan’s life. She was present during his birth and
predicted that one day he would be a “great man”.
“She taught me to love and care for humans and animals
alike” said Tan Sri Mahadevan who fondly recollected
his special relationship with his Obasan. Mahadevan did
not disappoint her and indeed went on to be a doyen
of psychiatry and community mental health services in
Malaysia. He also made immense contribution to the
sport of Polo and introduced the concept of riding for the
disabled.
This achievement however was not without trials and
tribulations. Mahadevan recalled an incident when he
was locked up in the chapel of St. John’s Institution Kuala
Lumpur and made to write “make me a doctor” a hundred
times because the Christian Brothers there had “given up”
beritaMMA Vol.43 • August 2013
on him. Apparently they considered him a “useless brat
who was only interested in horses”.
However, Mahadevan defied all odds and gained entry
into the “Malacca Ika-Dai-Gako“, a Japanese medical
school set up in Melaka. Not many Malaysians now would
recall the existence of such a school during the Japanese
occupation of Malaya. His studies were interrupted when
the Japanese lost the war and all their establishments
in Malaya came to naught. Like all other families, the
Mahadevan family too suffered the vicissitudes of the
war but they did not anticipate further troubles when
the Japanese left. Mahadevan’s father, Mahalingham
was accused by the returning British administration of
harbouring a Japanese spy since Obasan had lived with
them and communicated with the infamous Colonel
Ishikawa of the Japanese army.
His family fortunes took a turn for the worse and
Mahadevan found himself in India in pursuit of achieving
his ambition of becoming a doctor. He was accepted
by Mysore Medical College and was supported by a
scholarship awarded by the Maharajah of Mysore himself.
In return, Mahadevan had to exercise the horses in the
Maharajah’s stable! Even at medical college his professors
were amazed that this “hopeless boy who only thinks of
horses” would do so well in studies and indeed pass his
exams with flying colours. The twists and turns in his life
and the spiritual journey that he embarked in India made
the medical student Mahadevan only more determined to
be reach out to troubled souls later in his professional life.
His insatiable appetite for knowledge took him to many
countries across the globe. He was relentless in his pursuit
to study the complexities of the human mind. At University
College Dublin, Mahadevan not only pursued his studies
but was employed by the famous Professor John Dunn.
One day when Dr. Mahadevan was enjoying his drink at an
Irish pub, he was called to attend to a victim of a gruesome
road accident. Mahadevan had already apt in the science
of hypnosis which he used to stabilise the victim while
awaiting the ambulance to arrive. He accompanied the
victim to the hospital and repeated the technique on
him during the chase to the hospital. There, the victim
underwent a life saving surgery – without anaesthesia,
thanks to Dr. Mahadevan’s timely intervention.
In yet another pursuit of knowledge, Mahadevan went
to Harvard to take up a fellowship in Psychiatry under
the world renowned Professor Chester Pierce. Just when
he was contemplating on how to make do with a rather
tight budget, an anonymous benefactor contributed USD
2,500, a princely sum then, every month into Mahadevan’s
bank account as long as he continued to study at Harvard.
Mahadevan was confident, although not with absolute
certainty that that anonymous benefactor was none other
than the road accident victim whose life he saved in Ireland.
Professor Chester Pierce would have the honour to write
the foreword to the book.
When Dr. Mahadevan returned to Malaysia he instinctively
wanted to take up an academic position in the newly
set up medical faculty in University Malaya which was
relocated from the Singapore Campus. However he was
disappointed at the lukewarm reception he received. He
attributed this to “politics at the university”. He made
plans to return to Harvard but Tunku Abdul Rahman the
then Prime Minister persuaded him to remain in Malaysia
and take up the Directorship of the Central Mental Hospital
in Tanjung Rambutan – then also known as the “Siberia of
Health Services “.
When we spoke about his achievement in Tanjung
Rambutan, his eyes lit up he explained how he ushered
in major changes in institutionalised care. “I started a
campaign to destigmatise mental illness and this included
starting the process of renaming the Hospital“. Years later
his wish came true and the hospital was renamed Hospital
Bahagia.
Long before the world embraced the paradigm shift
towards community mental health services, Dr. Mahadevan
had already started home care services, halfway home
services and psychosocial rehabilitation activities. “The
appropriate therapeutic milieu is in the community” he
emphasised.
The halfway home he started in Tambun, Ipoh was then a
revolutionary concept in the management of the mentally
ill. “Today it is an important modality in rehabilitation of
the mentally ill” he added.
Decades before pet oriented therapy became a
fashionable phrase, Dr. Mahadevan, started the “Riding
for the Disabled Society“ in Tanjung Rambutan. “I was
laughed at then” he said, but added with a tinge of
mischief in his eyes, “Now who is laughing?” A man who
was ahead of his time, Dr. Mahadevan bears no grudges
for his innovative ideas being scoffed or rejected during
the early years of modern psychiatry in our country.
Dr. Mahadevan also became well known as an expert
witness in court. His testimony in famous cases like the
Botak Chin trial, The Jean Sinnapa and the Esther Chan
murders made Dr Mahadevan a household name in
Malaysia. His contribution to forensic psychiatry remains
a reference to students of psychiatry not only in Malaysia.
His photographs in the newspapers often had him looking
dapper in a well cut suit and dark glasses.
Tan Sri being awarded for Standing First in Medicine/Psychiatry in 1963.
Mahadevan immensely enjoyed his tutelage under Professor
Pierce who was equally impressed by Mahadevan’s passion
and commitment to the development of psychiatry.
They also became lifelong friends with a great deal of
mutual respect and admiration. “Many decades later,
when Tan Sri Mahadevan decided to commission his
biography “The Mad Heaven“, it was only natural that
He smiled sheepishly when I reminded him that many also
remember him as a socialite seen among the rich and
famous, and often in the company of beautiful women. He
swept over the question when I asked him why isn’t there a
Puan Sri in his life. Indeed he turned the tables on me and
asked me instead to quickly get married and not make the
same mistake like him!
His fascination for horses saw him take up Polo at a young
age. Even now, he continues to indulge in this sport
although with some difficulty. He also managed to convince
beritaMMA Vol.43 • August 2013
38
personality
former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to take
up horse riding. Tun Mahathir was known for his anathema
to many a sport but somehow became fascinated with
riding. Tan Sri Mahadevan recalls riding with Tun Mahathir
in Argentina when he could not keep up with the then
Prime Minister. “He is the most senior rider in the country
and I am next” adds, Dr. Mahadevan.
All along, Harvard University monitored Mahadevan’s
role in enriching and improving mental health services
in Malaysia. About a decade ago, Harvard decided to
honour Dr. Mahadevan with the Harvard Chair for his
“immense contribution to the development of Psychiatry
in Malaysia“. Humbled by this and in appreciation of his
long standing relationship with Harvard, Dr. Mahadevan
set up the annual Mahadevan Travelling Fellowship at
Harvard University.This fellowship is given to outstanding
young doctors who want to pursue an interest in Clinical
Hypnosis – a subject that is close to Dr. Mahadevan’s heart.
Tan Sri Mahadevan in a game of polo.
Dato Seri Dr. Mahadevan was already highly decorated
but in 2001 he was awarded one of the highest awards
in Malaysia, the Panglima Setia Mahkota which carries the
title Tan Sri. In the medical profession, such a title is usually
reserved for the Director-General of Health and only a
handful of other doctors in the country have had such an
honour bestowed upon them. However, the one honour
that Tan Sri Mahadevan considers to be his crowning glory
is the Dato Seri Azlanii ( DSA) award that he received from
His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak whom
he respectfully describes as “my Ruler”. The DSA was
conferred to only 25 individuals to commemorate His
Royal Highness’s 25 years as sovereign.
I did not ask Tan Sri Mahadevan how he would like to be
remembered as I was sure he would just brush that question
aside. As I drove off from his residence I told myself; here
is a man of honour, a celebrated psychiatrist and one who
truly knows the meaning of joie de vivre!
Tan Sri Mahadevan is a Life Member of MMA. This article is the first of a series of
articles which celebrate the commendable contributions and achievements of
various outstanding personalities of the Malaysian Medical Association.
beritaMMA Vol.43 • August 2013