{"id":45250,"date":"2026-02-01T18:57:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T14:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=45250"},"modified":"2026-02-01T18:57:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T14:57:06","slug":"sathiamoorthy-sunassee-a-life-of-service-to-the-labour-party-and-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/sathiamoorthy-sunassee-a-life-of-service-to-the-labour-party-and-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Sathiamoorthy Sunassee: A Life of Service to the Labour Party and the Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><u><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Obituary<\/span><br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The passing of Sathiamoorthy Sunassee on January 22, 2026, at the age of 82, marks the end of a life defined by two unwavering pillars: a shrewd business acumen and an absolute loyalty to the Mauritius Labour Party (PTr). Known affectionately to many as Moorthy, he represented a generation of political figures for whom party affiliation was not a matter of convenience, but a sacred family heritage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>A Heritage of Service<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For Moorthy Sunassee, the red banner of the Labour Party was a legacy. Following in the footsteps of his father, who was himself a dedicated member of the PTr, Moorthy grew up in an environment where the ideals of social justice and the struggles for independence were dinner-table conversations. This deep-rooted family history ensured that even when the political tides turned, he remained loyal to his party.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The 1995 Landslide and Ministerial Career<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Moorthy Sunassee\u2019s political journey reached its zenith during the historic general elections of 1995. Running in Constituency No. 13 (Rivi\u00e8re-des-Anguilles\u2013Souillac) as part of the PTr-MMM alliance, he secured a commanding second-place finish alongside his running mates, Kishore Deerpalsing and Raouf Bundhun.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The alliance&#8217;s 60-0 sweep propelled him into the Cabinet, where he was entrusted with the crucial portfolio of Ministry of Industry and Commerce. As a businessman by training and temperament, he brought a practical, results-oriented approach to the ministry, navigating the complexities of trade and industrial growth during a transformative era for the Mauritian economy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Moorthy Sunassee&#8217;s relationship with the <em>Mauritius Times<\/em> went far beyond that of a reader. He was a &#8220;great supporter&#8221; of the publication. He valued the paper\u2019s role in fostering deep political analysis and maintaining the historical memory of the Labour Party\u2019s founding principles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>&#8220;Loyalty Through Every Trial&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Perhaps the most striking tribute to Moorthy Sunassee comes from his peers, who describe his &#8220;fid\u00e9lit\u00e9 \u00e0 toute \u00e9preuve&#8221; &#8212; a loyalty tested and proven. In an era where political floor-crossing and shifting alliances often dominate the headlines, Moorthy Sunassee stood by the Labour Party during its triumphs in the mid-90s and remained a steadfast supporter during its periods in the political wilderness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As noted by current government members and party colleagues alike, he remained a &#8220;loyalist to the core,&#8221; never wavering in his support for the Labour Party.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sathiamoorthy Sunassee leaves behind a legacy of stability and conviction. He served as a bridge between the founding generation of the Labour Party and the modern era, demonstrating that one could be a successful businessman while remaining deeply committed to the foundational ideals of the party.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #808000;\">Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 30 January 2026<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Obituary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9019],"tags":[1173,36,59050,59051,2328,59049],"class_list":["post-45250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obituary","tag-mauritius-labour-party","tag-mauritius-times","tag-minister-of-industry-and-commerce","tag-moorthy-sunassee","tag-obituary","tag-sathiamoorthy-sunassee"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sathiamoorthy-Sunassee.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-bLQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45252,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45250\/revisions\/45252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}