[2] She became the first woman elected to public office in Malaysia when she won a seat on the Municipal Council in Kuala Lumpur in 1952.

She was the grandmother of Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sungai Buloh Ramanan Ramakrishnan.

Of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, Krishnan was born in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, and was the eldest of six children.

Her father was acting controller of Post and Telecoms Malaya, and her mother was a college-trained Tamil school teacher.

She was also actively involved in the Women's International Club where she spent her time raising funds for disaster victims.

"When I stood as a candidate, I needed help to address the audience, so I would sit with Datuk Onn and another lawyer, R. Ramani, at his office," she recalled, adding that the IMP quarters were in what is now the landmark Sultan Abdul Samad Building.

In her 1952 election manifesto, she stated, "I will interest myself particularly in the lot of the women of Kuala Lumpur and in extending the programme of social work already carried out by the municipality."

As chair of the MIC's Syed Putra branch, Krishnan continued to recruit women members and encourage them to register as voters.

Their eldest grandson Ramanan Ramakrishnan was an MIC treasurer and is a Member of Parliament for Sungai Buloh under the Pakatan Harapan banner.

In August 1995, she was conferred the Panglima Setia Mahkota by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, entitling her to use the title Tan Sri.