A forerunner for Malaysian women in radio, her infectiously cheerful voice was a familiar one on Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s (RTM) English network for about 30 years.

Her morning shows were lively, smart and original, and brought some sunshine to households through the 1960s to ’80s.

As Constance or Connie was always so happy, listeners experienced happiness and encouragement.

Late at night, her request programme sometimes became a haven for the lonely who opened up about their heavy hearts, their hopes and the important people in their lives.

She told callers that they were loved, offered them advice and then she played them a song.

Off the air, while the music played, she would talk with them. A schoolgirl struggled to speak English. A young man wanted to express his liking for a girl, so he called Constance for advice.

There’s plenty to love about Constance. Her beauty, expressive eyes, and charming smile captivated television audiences when she read the English news on TV2 and hosted shows in the 1980s.

Her charm, according to one report, attracted a man who was drawn to her personality, to the extent, he stalked her at her workplace.

Constance said in an interview with blogger Kakteh that the stranger got angry when she told him she did not recognise him and blurted: “You don’t recognise me? But whenever you read the news, you always wink at me!”

Her appeal increased when she became the first non-Malay compere and the first female anchor in 1971 for RTM’s talent search show, Bakat TV, which was the precursor to Bintang RTM.

She said at that time she felt like a film star as “there were cameras everywhere and more people put the name to the face”.

“With a name like Haslam, it became interesting. It sounds like a Malay name but I didn’t speak like a Malay,” she told Kakteh.

She also played a role to keep members of the Malaysian Armed Forces and Commonwealth troops stationed here entertained as they fought the communist insurgents in the ’60s.

Military veteran Major Adnan Bakar told FMT Constance was a respite for the hardened men who dedicated songs to their girlfriends, wives or family members.

Adnan recalled one of her famous lines in the Sunday afternoon show was, “a love song needs a lyric that tells a story”.

According to her first cousin, Anne, Constance remained popular here years after she had settled in Versailles, France, with her husband, Erwin Behr in 2000.

“It was fascinating to see people in Alor Setar mobbing her at a shopping mall during her last visit to Malaysia before the pandemic,” said Anne, who lives in Sungai Petani.

Reflections of Constance’s sunny disposition came aplenty in the form of tributes from many following her death yesterday at the age of 77.

The cause of her death is not immediately known, with Anne expressing shock over her “sudden passing”.

Anne said Constance loved playing scrabble and both of them played the word game on Facebook almost daily.

“When there was no response from Constance two days ago, I thought little of it, but I was devastated when I got the sad news,” she said.

She said Constance was a good-hearted person and often encouraged family members and friends to reflect on what they admired, letting them know that, in turn, they will attract what they reflected.

Former RTM presenter Neubert Ambrose, another cousin of Constance, said he was distraught as he was making plans to visit her in France.

“She instilled discipline in me and I learned much from her being chirpy during request programmes, serious when reading the news, and warm and friendly as a chat show host,” he said.

Ex-RTM announcer Ronnie Atkinson said Constance was a much sought-after emcee for many events where she was adept at holding an audience’s attention with her distinctively intimate style of delivery.

He said she was also one of the pioneers of Radio Malaysia Ibukota (RMIK) alongside Noor Nikman Dadameah.

“Connie was part of my close group of friends at RTM together with Alan Zechariah, Paul De Souza, R Jeyanathan and Vicky Skelchy,” said Atkinson.

Theatre doyenne and former RTM newsreader Faridah Merican said she remembered Constance with much fondness.

“She was a warm and lovely person, someone who had a positive outlook and on whom you could always rely on for anything,” said Faridah, who was also a familiar voice in radio plays and short story readings.

Celebrated radio announcer Patrick Teoh said: “Connie has departed for the big radio station in the sky.

“A whole generation of us have listened to her golden voice, reading the news, answering requests and spinning the top hits of the day.”

Another renowned radio presenter, A Radha Krishnan, said he knew Constance from the ’60s when Radio Malaysia was operating from the fifth and sixth floor of Federal House in Kuala Lumpur.

He said she was an incredible supporter of new talent and gave a leg up to so many like him at a time when presenters encouraged people of all races to speak and understand proper English.

“The spirit of the Blue Network then lay in its simplicity of influential voices, informative programmes and good music, and Connie was unique in every way,” he said.