Meet Malaysia's 'Woman Of Steel': The 1st Female Cop To Head The Anti-Vice Branch In Penang

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 The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) had a tough time in the 1970s as violent crimes were rampant throughout the nation.

In the midst of this state of lawlessness, a 'Woman of Steel' stood out as the first Indian policewoman feared and respected by many criminals.

A Chandramalar, or more commonly known as Chandra, was a former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) who nabbed pimps, drug pushers, and gambling syndicates in Penang, and was famed for breaking down the doors of brothels with one swift kick, as reported by The Star.


Chandra was born in 1939 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka to a railway clerk father and housewife mother. She is the fourth child in a family of five girls and grew up in Kluang, Johor.


Women of steel

According to Varnam, Chandra first joined the police force as a probationary inspector in 1960 after a short term working as a primary school teacher. She and her squad of 13 police officers travelled on Honda motorcycles, raiding as many as 15 brothels or gambling dens each day, averaging roughly 200 raids per month.


Chandra had also gone undercover, disguised as a sex worker on several occasions to catch a pimp or blending in among the gamblers to secure a ringside seat, she once told The Star.

Chandra had a 90% conviction record in her 30 years as a cop, an accomplishment that awarded her two letters of commendation and a Pingat Jasa Masyarakat (PJM) from the Governor of Penang.

She was promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in 1977, becoming the first woman to work as an executive staff at the Kuala Kubu Bharu Police College.

She also received an Ahli Mangku Negara (AMN) from the King in 1977, and a Kesatrian Mangku Negara (KMN) in 1994.




Then in 1981, she was posted to Shah Alam as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in charge of commercial crime for Selangor.

Chandra became the first woman Superintendent of Police, as deputy officer in charge of criminal investigation in courts for Kuala Lumpur in 1989.


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