Datuk Vaithilingam

Datuk is a highly respected leader in the administration of sports and sporting associations. In 1969, he became the Assistant Secretary General of the Selangor Schools Sports Council and was then appointed Secretary General from 1971 and held that post for eighteen years. He had also served the Malaysian Schools Sports Council, popularly known as MSSM, in various capacities. For his service as successful director of competition of the Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) in 1998, the Selangor State Government awarded him with the award of Tokoh Pentadbir Sukan.

Datuk Vaithilingam is renowned as the person who introduced softball and rhythmic gymnastics to the Malaysian scene. He was Team Manager of the Malaysian Gymnastics team to the Commonwealth Games held in Victoria, Canada. For his services in sports, the National Sports Council awarded him National Sports Special Award in 1996. More recently, on 17th December 2012, Datuk Vaithilingam was inducted in to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall of Fame – joining an elite group of eminent sporting personalities before him.

Datuk is dedicated to inter-faith integrity, social service and community development in Malaysia. His service to the community began in 1957, when he joined the Malaysia Hindu Youth Organisation. In 1975, became president of the Malaysia Hindu Youth, and established more than 150 HYOs throughout the nation including Sabah and Sarawak. For his services, he was awarded Tokoh Belia Hindu Nasional in 1983.

He served the Malaysia Hindu Sangam from 1966 for 12 years until his retirement from office in 2009. He held the post of President of the organisation from 1996 to 2009. During his leadership, he played a role in reorganizing the Malaysia Hindu Sangam and made it a truly representative National body making it a house hold name in Malaysia and the rest of the world.

Datuk Vaithilingam was a founder member of the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) in 1992 and served as its Treasurer for more than eight years. He was also the Founder Member of the Malaysian AIDS Federation (MAF) and served as a trustee of the foundation for about eight years. His contribution in HIV/AIDS awareness in Malaysia, was mainly to engage with the various religious groups to introduce a spiritual, religious based approach to addressing the issues. He organized numerous HIV/AIDS awareness programs throughout the country.

He has also a key founder member of the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taosim (MCCBCHST). The latter is the national representative body for the non-Muslim communities of Malaysia, and is also a prime mover and proponent of inter-faith dialogue amongst the multi-ethnic, multi-religious populace of the country. He served as President of the MCCBCHST in 1991-1993, 1999-2001 and 2007-2009.

In the year 200, Datuk represented Malaysia at the World Millenium at the United Nations headquarters, where he presented a paper on the success of Malaysia in establishing a peaceful and harmonious nation made up of a multi-racial and multi-religious demography. He has been nominated by the Prime Minister to serve as Member of the National Unity Advisory Panel for a period of fifteen years, under five different Ministers of National Unity.

For his services to the nation, he was awarded the Ahli Mangku Negara (A.M.N.) in 1980 and later on the Panglima Jasa Negara (P.J.N.) in 2003, which carries the title “Datuk” and is limited to 300 recipients only.