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Serviceman laid to rest

Friday February 10, 2012
By ANDREA FILMER
Photos by ASRI ABDUL GHANI

LONG-SERVING soldier William David Dass (pic) was given a fitting farewell at his funeral at the St George’s Church in Penang.
He was acknowledged with military honours at the funeral service where his casket was led by bag-pipers from the 8th Royal Regiment based in the Terendak Army Camp, Malacca.
Solemn affair: The casket of the late William leaving St George's Church in Penang.
The retired Warrant Officer II, who died at the age of 77 on Sunday, was later cremated at Batu Gantong. He had served 29 years with the Malaysian Armed Forces and participated in several high profile military operations.
William, who was also named a Universal Peace Federation ambassador of peace, is survived by his wife Sundari Gopal Iyer, five children and seven grandchildren. His eldest son, Kapt Christopher Ravindran, described his father as an active celebrant of life and a man who was a “true believer in the value of comradeships.”
“Dad lived a soldier’s life and breathed his last like a soldier,” Kapt Christopher said during the eulogy at the packed church yesterday.
He said his father had first put on a uniform at the age of 16 when he joined the Police Volunteer Service in 1950.
We'll miss him: Sundari with her sons, Kapt Christopher (left)
and Kol Dr Alexander leaving the church after the funeral service.
William went on to enlist in the army and was one of the soldiers despatched as security personnel during the Baling Talks in 1955.
Aside from being one of 15 pioneers of the Junior Civil Liaison Officers who played an important part during the Malaysia-Indonesia Emergency period, William was also a member of the Malaysian Armed Forces United Nation’s Peace Mission to Congo in 1962 where he served eight months.
After his retirement in 1980, William lent his services to various organisations including the Penang Veteran’s Association, Malaysian Armed Forces Ex-Services Association and The National Association for the Prevention of Drugs (Pemadam).
He was also an active member of St George’s Church where he married Sundari in 1958.
Grand service: Many joining the procession led by the hearse.
Kapt Christopher said both he and his brother Kol Dr Alexander Amarandran had followed in their father’s footsteps to don the uniform. Kapt Christopher previously served in the Royal Malaysian Navy and is currently with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency while Kol Dr Alexander is an army dental surgeon based in Malacca.
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  1. Anonymous20 February 2012 at 08:15

    He was such a humble man. May he rest in peace.

    ReplyDelete

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