KUALA TERENGGANU: It is perhaps the best New Year gift for octogenarian Senathi Rajah Sinnathamby.
The renowned geologist was bestowed a ‘datukship’ recently, in recognition of his significant contribution and extensive research articles on geology.
It may have been a long time coming, but Datuk Senathi Rajah relished the moment he was awarded the ‘Dato Paduka Mahkota Perak’ (DPMP) title by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizuddin Shah.
“My wife, Kamala Doraisamy, and I were pleasantly surprised upon receiving news of my datukship, especially so long after retirement.
“I thought I was a forgotten man, just like many others who had contributed immensely to the country in different ways,” said Senathi Rajah, who retired 30 years ago as the Geological Survey Department’s assistant director-general in 1988.
Senathi Rajah, who turned 86 on Jan 13, is credited with unearthing numerous minerals, fossils and hydrocarbons for oil and gas exploration, including the precious red-colour bauxite – worth billions of ringgit - way back in the 1960s.
In fact, Senathi Rajah is credited with discovering limestone in Sungai Dohol and 14 new plant fossils in argillaceous rocks in Sungai Linggiu – both in Johor – with a new plant genus Rajahia named after him!
Bauxite, originally discovered in 1937, is found largely in Sungai Lembing, Tanah Merah, Jeram and Bukit Goh in Pahang, and Jabor in Terengganu.
“Little did I realise then, the huge commercial value of bauxite, which became big news just two years ago, when the mineral was in great demand by China for the aluminium industry.
“In 1965, as a fresh graduate in Ipoh, I was handpicked by my expatriate boss to carry out profiling and analysis of bauxite deposits on granite hills and Paleozoic sedimentary-volcanic rocks, particularly on Gunung Belumut in Johor.
“At the time, Japan was the main player in importing bauxite for the aluminium industry,” said Senathi Rajah, who lives at Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Senathi Rajah had his early education at Government English School (now Sekolah Sultan Yusof) in Batu Gajah and Clifford Secondary School in Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
In 1953, he became a field assistant with the Geological Survey Department.
The department awarded him a scholarship to complete his Higher School Certificate at Anderson School, Ipoh.
In 1958, he became the first Malaysian to win a Colombo Plan scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Science (Geology) degree at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
Two years later, he won a federal scholarship to obtain a Master of Science in mineral exploration from Imperial College, London.
In 1971, he completed his post-graduate research on polymetallic sulphide mineralisation at University of Durham, UK.
He subsequently obtained a fellowship diploma of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain.
“I am sad to see that greed for quick gains has resulted in minerals being exploited at the expense of large plantations, thus, affecting crops like oil palm and rubber.
“The repercussions will be there soon, as the mined soil cannot be reused for plantations or orchards.
“The environment has also been affected with pollution from mining dust, not to mention the effects on marine life.
“This has caused a mess for us as the mining activities took place without proper procedures.
“I am sad to see it this way,” said Batu Gajah-born Senathi Rajah, who had served in Kemaman (Terengganu), Ipoh (Perak), Johor Baru and Kuala Lumpur.
After retirement from government service, he was based in Kelantan as project manager for Dome Resources of Australia involved with gold exploration in 1988, for two years.
From 1991 to 1994, he was the Southeast Asia Tin Research and Development Centre acting director based in Ipoh.
Today, he is a consultant geologist, serving even in Cambodia and Kazakhstan.
He has penned more than 20 articles and presented numerous papers for local and international academia.