Malaysian Senate President Expresses Condolences Over Jayalalithaa's Death

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Dewan Negara (Malaysian Senate) President S. A. Vigneswaran on Tuesday expressed his condolences over the death of J. Jayalalithaa, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, India. Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby, he said he hoped that people of the southern Indian state would remain calm over the loss of the six-time chief minister who had been popularly known as 'Amma' (mother). "I am very sad. All (of us) knew Jayalalithaa. She was also a famous actress. Hope the people (of Tamil Nadu) will be calm," he said. The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa, one of India's most powerful politicians, was admitted to a Chennai hospital on Sept 22 with a fever, dehydration and a respiratory infection. On Sunday evening she suffered a cardiac arrest and her condition deteriorated. Doctors of Apollo Hospital along with specialists from New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences failed to revive her after she was put on life support. Jayalalithaa died at 11.30pm Monday (2am Tuesday in Malaysia) at the Apollo Hospital. Jayalalithaa dominated Tamil Nadu's politics for three decades and served as the state's chief minister six times. She was born into a Brahmin family in Mysore in Karnataka, a state bordering Tamil Nadu, and was a hugely popular movie star before formally entering politics in 1982. --BERNAMA