Born in IPOH in 1975, Retinam made his debut for Malaysia in 1997, playing in that year's Saudara Cup match against Singapore. He made his List A debut the following year, playing for Malaysia in the Wills Cup, a Pakistani domestic one-day tournament, against the Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan and Gujranwala. Later in the year he played for Malaysia in the cricket tournament at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, hosted in his home city, playing one match against Jamaica.