KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has paid tribute to the late Datin Paduka Sister Enda Ryan, who founded the Assunta all-girls schools.
In a Facebook post, the Selangor Royal Office said Sultan Sharafuddin Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin offered their condolences to Sister Enda's family.
The post, which was accompanied by a photo of Sultan Sharafuddin meeting Sister Enda, said the former headmistress contributed a lot to education and welfare in the country.
Sister Enda, who was 96, died on Sunday.
She arrived in then-Malaya in 1954 following a request by Sir Michael Hogan (the then-chief justice of Malaya) to set up schools for girls whose education had been disrupted during the Communist insurgency.
During her 31 years of service, she received numerous awards, including the Excellent Service Award from the Education Ministry (1985), the Pingat Jasa Cemerlang (1986), the Pingat Jasa Kebaktian (PJK) from the Sultan of Selangor (1987), and Anugerah Tokoh Guru Selangor (1990).
She was the first headmistress of the schools, and in 1966, she became a Malaysian citizen.
She retired in 1989 and lived at the Assunta Convent in Petaling Jaya Old Town.
In 2007, she was conferred the Darjah Kebesaran Dato' Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah by the Sultan of Selangor, which carries the title Datin Paduka.
She was conferred an honorary doctorate in humanities from Taylor's University in 2022.