Shubashini "Shuba" Jeyaratnam (15 July 197617 July 2014), also known by stage names Shuba Jay and Shuba Jaya, was a Malaysian entrepreneur, stage performer, and actress who achieved popularity through her roles in several TV shows. Of Indian Tamil descent, she was killed, together with her husband and daughter, in the shootdown of

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk missile system, Bu ...

Career

In her university studies she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. After working as a copywriter for the ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'', Jay worked in the newspaper's advertising studio before moving to the advertising department. In 2009 she was part of the 15Malaysia project, a series of short films on various socio-political themes. In 2010, Jay and her father took part in the reality TV show ''Mari Menari'' (Malay for ''Let's Dance'') on

Astro Ria Astro Ria is a 24-hour Southeast Asian Malay language television channel exclusive to the Astro satellite television provider. It was one of the first 22 channels to be launched on Astro in 1996. Astro Ria offered mainly dramas & reality show ...

. In 2011, she started acting and became known for her role in several local TV shows such as ''Spanar Jaya'', ''Gadis 3'' and ''Sugumana Sumaigal''. She also appeared in several local films such as ''Relationship Status'' (2012) and ''Tokak'' (2013), and performed on stage in ''Fourplay'', ''Charley's Auntie'' and ''Hungry for Hope''.

Personal life

Jay met her Dutch future husband, Paul Goes, during a holiday in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Shortly after her marriage in 2010, Jay became an advocate for

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Infants may suck the milk directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a Breast pump, pump and then fed to the infant. The World Health Orga ...

and

home birth A home birth is a birth that takes place in a residence rather than in a hospital or a birthing center. They may be attended by a midwife, or lay attendant with experience in managing home births. Home birth was, until the advent of modern medi ...

ing. The home birth of her daughter Kaela was reported in local media. According to ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', she was known to her fans as "''Shuba Jay''". She was recognised by ''Prestige Magazine'' as one of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

's top 40 individuals under the age of 40.

Death

Jay and her family were on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 when it was shot down by Russian mercenaries during the war in Dunbas on 17 July 2014, killing all people on board. Many local actors and film directors expressed shock at her sudden death, which took place just two days after her 38th birthday. ''Newsbook'' published an interview with the husband of her husband's sister. According to the interview, Jay was a well-known actress in Malaysia who wanted to continue working on her career outside of her home country. The bodies of Shuba Jay and her family arrived in Malaysia on 2 September, and funeral rites were conducted the same day at the Nirvana Memorial Centre.

References

External links

* (Archive) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeyaratnam, Shubashini Shuba Jay 1976 births 2014 deaths 21st-century Malaysian actresses 21st-century Malaysian businesspeople Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 victims Malaysian film actresses Malaysian television actresses Malaysian people of Tamil descent Malaysian people of Indian descent Malaysian Hindus