B.C. Sekhar

Tan Sri Dr B.C. Sekhar modernised Malaysia’s natural rubber industry. He was known as Mr Natural Rubber. He was also involved in the development of the nation's palm oil industry. Sekhar was of ethnic Indian origin.

Sekhar was born on 17 November 1929 at the Ulu Bulu Estate (now Malayan Glass). His place of birth is located near the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia’s (RRIM) 3,400 acre experimental station at Sungai Buloh, which he developed during his tenure into one of the most comprehensively equipped research centres.

He started as a chemist at RRIM in 1949 and led research, particularly in physiochemical changes in natural rubber. He turned the institute into a research centre able to conduct in-depth research into the manufacture of nearly every conceivable rubber application from tubes, tyres and gloves to earthquake disaster prevention devices.

Sekhar served the natural rubber industry for about 50 years in various capacities. He was the first Asian Director of the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia in 1966 and, subsequently, become the first Asian Controller of Rubber Research and chairman of the Malaysian Rubber Research and Development Board.

Under his leadership, the RRIM, Tun Abdul Razak Rubber Research Centre (TARRC) in Hertford, Britain, and the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) rose to great heights and gained international recognition for excellence in research, modernisation of the rubber industry and the vigorous promotion and expansion of rubber usage.

He was actively involved in the formation of the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute and evolved the Malaysian Rubber Development Corporation from a desk in his division to what it finally became.

His efforts in setting up central processing units throughout the country and spearheading small holder support and development systems lead to their achieving impressive levels of performance and viability, while contributing substantively to the nation's economy.

Sekhar also oversaw the development of stimulants to paint on rubber trees to double and in many cases triple latex yields. He was directly involved in the invention and subsequent development of the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) process whose final product allowed for grading to buyers’ specifications to a very high level of consistency. This was one of its most significant developments as an industrial raw material.

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