He requested that upon his death, part of the donations he received be used to assist caddies at the Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) to develop their game.
The man with a big heart conveyed his desire last week to his long-time friend George Das, a former sportswriter who reported widely on his glittering career.
Another wish of Ramayah, to provide quality education for his 14-year-old daughter Bhakialakshmi, was fulfilled by a group of golfers called Heineken Buaya, who raised RM82,500 for the purpose.
In thanking the donors, Ramayah told Das: “Golf gave me so much joy. And I tried giving back. I don’t know if I can beat this cancer with my 7-iron. But I have no regrets. Thank you everyone for your support.”
An FMT report on Feb 15 about the plight of Ramayah generated donations totalling about RM200,000 for his treatment of stage four spinal cancer, as he could not afford it.
Ramayah, a 13-time World Cup golfer, a renowned golf coach and touring pro, died at the age of 67 on Monday after a short battle with the disease.
Some 700 people, including many young caddies who idolised Ramayah, bid him farewell at his funeral yesterday.
Recalling Ramayah’s act of kindness, Das said: “A week before his health took a turn for the worse, I had a chat with Ramayah about what we should do with the public donations.
“My proposal was that it could be used to help needy caddies from RSGC. His eyes lit up and he gave me the thumbs up.
“He liked the idea as it was going back to his roots. RSGC was where he started as a caddie and he knew how badly the caddies needed assistance.”
Ramayah asked that the money be used to assist the caddies buy golf equipment, travel to competitions locally, pay competition entry fees, and obtain medical treatment.
Das, a former sportswriter, said Ramayah held his hand and said, “Let’s do it George.”
“We are hopeful that Ramayah’s family will fulfil his wish to help the RSGC caddies attain a good life in the sport,” he said.
Ramayah was so fond of RSGC that he asked Heineken Buaya member Dave Looi to take him on a visit there in another dying wish. It didn’t happen as he was bedridden.
Meanwhile, Looi said the fundraiser for Bhakialakshmi’s education was spearheaded by Roland Bala, the managing director of Heineken Malaysia.
“When we told him we had raised the money for him, he held our hands and told us to give it to his daughter for her education.
“He asked us to encourage his daughter to study hard as tears welled up in his eyes,” Looi said.