Family Matters:
Rajaratnam was born in Vattukottai, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He was the second child of Sabapathy Pillai Sinnathamby and his wife both of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. His father had wanted him to be born in Sri Lanka for auspicious reasons after the premature death of his older brother. He was then brought back to Malaya and raised in Seremban and Selangor.
Academic Matters:
Rajaratnam studied in Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, St Paul's boys' school, Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur and later in Raffles Institution in Singapore. In 1937, he went to King's College London to pursue a law degree. However, because of World War II, he wasn't able to receive any funding from his family to continue his studies.
Early job:
Instead, he turned to journalism to earn a living. He met his wife, Piroska Feher,while in London. He returned to Singapore in 1948 when he joined the Malayan Tribune. In 1954, he joined The Straits Times as a journalist. He was bold in writing about the way Singapore was governed by the British. This incurred the displeasure of the colonial government. His column, "I write as I please", attracted so much attention that he was called for questioning by the government.
Source: Wikipedia
