Category Archives: Post

Happy birthday, Dr. Wu!

“It was in this house that I, the fourth son and eighth child of the family, was born before dawn on a Monday, the eighteenth day of the Second Moon in the fifth year of Emperor Kuang Hsu, corresponding to March 10, 1879, of the Gregorian calendar. My elder sisters and the shop assistants used to tell me, as soon as I could understand their talk, that I was born under a lucky shining moon, for the date was the eighteenth day of the second moon and the hour was three o’clock in the morning. The overhanging clouds had drifted away and the moon seemed brighter than usual in the dark sky. There was apparently no difficulty in the delivery, or subsequent complication. “

(From Chapter V Childhood and Schooldays, Plague Fighter)

Slide design credit: Quah Seng Sun

8th Annual Public Lecture and 3rd Award Ceremony for the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health 2024

March 9, 2024

We organized the 8th Annual Public Lecture together with the 3rd award ceremony for the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health 2024, in conjunction with the 145th birthday anniversary of Dr Wu Lien-Teh, in collaboration with our strategic partner, Penang Institute.

We were proud to have Professor Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, President and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Monash University Malaysia as the third awardee of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health. She was awarded in recognition of her prominent leadership and outstanding contribution towards HIV/ AIDS mitigation in Malaysia and globally. Her strong advocacy for evidence-based, human rights-orientated drug policy reforms is instrumental in influencing the Malaysian government’s shift in drug policies and health in the criminal justice setting. The award was presented by Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal, President, Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society.

Professor Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman receiving the award from Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal. Photo credit: David ST Loh
Medal of Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health. Photo credit: David ST Loh.
Certificate of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health. Photo credit: David ST Loh

Kudos to Prof- for her relentless fight and altruism for the benefit beyond self!

Committee members of the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society with guest speaker. From left to right: Mr Ronald Quay (Committee Member),Mr Quah Seng Sun (Committee Member), Ms Ong Siou Woon (Assistant Secretary-General), Dr Hor Chee Peng (Secretary-General), Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal (President),  Ms Ooi Geok Ling (Vice President),  and Mr Clement Liang Chow Ming (Treasurer). Photo Credit: David ST Loh
Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal delivering his welcoming speech. Photo credit: Quah Seng Sun

In his welcoming remarks, Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar shared with the audience on stories of Dr. Wu and his health activism on the anti-opium campaign. The Society also launched the third postcard- a painting entitled “Saviour of Mankind” which was presented to The Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society by Penang artist Lim Guat Eng (Ying Zhi) in 2022. It highlighted Dr. Wu’s lasting global impact on public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third postcard was launched featuring a painting by local artist Ying Zhi.

After the event officiation, there was an acknowledgement ceremony of funding contribution from Dato’ Seri Cheah Cheng Hye to the Society. Dato Seri Cheah Cheng Hye, a penangite, co-founder and co-CEO of Value Partner, an ardent supporter and great friend of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society has pledged to contribute RM 15000 to support the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Annual Public Lecture and Award for Leadership in Public Health, for next 5 years. Mr. Chan Looi Tat, assistant to Dato’ Seri Cheah presented a mock cheque on behalf of Dato Seri Cheah to President of the Society.

Mr. Chan Looi Tat, Assistant to Dato’ Seri Cheah Cheng Hye presented a mock cheque to Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal. Photo credit: David ST Loh

Professor Dato’ Adeeba captivated her audience over her 50-minute lecture on “Pandemics and Health Inequities – Looking Back and Moving Forward”, with an enriching interactive Q&A session with the audience, moderated by Dr Hor Chee Peng.

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the impact of societal issues such as income, type of employment and even political affiliation on the outcome of the disease. While the public health-driven COVID-19-related restrictions affected everyone, it quickly became clear that the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic were not equally shared, with numerous studies showing different case rates between lower-income and higher-income populations. At the global level, the inequities associated with the COVID-19 vaccine distribution may have cost more than one million lives.

Professor Dato’ Dr . Adeeba delivering her named lecture. Photo Credit: David ST Loh.

“Equip yourself alive not solely for your own benefit, but for the benefit of the whole community”

Prof Dato’ Dr Adeeba quoting Sir John Monash

The HIV pandemic earlier also highlighted the impact of the social determinants of health on disease risk and outcomes and increasingly, the threat of climate change which disproportionately affects poorer nations and populations will create further challenges on the health of individuals and societies. The lessons learnt from these pandemics should therefore give us pause to examine the systemic and structural factors that lead to health outcomes which provides us with an opportunity to review policies to address them that can lead to genuine transformation of the health of our population.

The full video is accessible at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj7d3IhiICc

Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba and moderator Dr Peng at the Q&A session. Photo credit: David ST Loh.
Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba addressing questions from the audience during the Q&A session. Photo credit: David ST Loh.

“All awards are special but this Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award is extra special because of who Dr. Wu was and how it so closely relates to my career as an infectious disease physician and public health practitioner. Dr. Wu was also a trailblazer – so to be recognised in his name is a tremendous honour indeed.”

Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Professor Dato’ Dr. Adeeba addressing questions from the audience during the Q&A session. Photo credit: Quah Seng Sun.

The Society established the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health in March 2022 to recognize exemplary leaders and their outstanding contributions to the field of public health. Their passion and determination to make a difference for mankind. Their fighting spirit is infectious and their achievements continue to inspire others. The awardee will be invited to deliver the named Annual Public Lecture of the year. The inaugural awardee was Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Noor Hisham bin Abdullah, Director-General of Health, Malaysia in 2022; followed by Professor Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director and Professor of Global Health Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University in 2023.

Group photo of Guest Speaker and Public Audience at the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Garden, Penang Institute. Photo Credit: Ong Siou Woon.

The event ended with a tea party at the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Garden in Penang Institute.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our honourable speaker, lovely audience, very hardworking and dynamic working committee from the Society and Penang Institute, for making this event a success!

7th Annual Public Lecture and 2nd Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health

On March 5 2023, the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society organized the 7th Annual Public Lecture together with the award ceremony for the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health 2023, in conjunction to the 144th birthday anniversary of Dr Wu Lien-Teh and 10th year anniversary of the Society, in collaboration with our strategic partner, Penang Institute.

We were extremely proud to have Professor Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director and Professor of Global Health, Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University as the second awardee of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health.

She was awarded in recognition of her prominent leadership as a trusted humanitarian and founder of MERCY Malaysia with remarkable contributions to the development of humanitarian and international emergency aid at home and globally. She pioneered the use of Islamic social finance to address humanitarian crises. Her active engagement in inter-agency partnership, resource development and mobilization, strategic planning, policy implementation and global communications have inspired many and made a great impact with positive changes. She actively advises on Environment, Social and Governance in the advisory and board roles she holds. Her strong advocacy for planetary health and sustainable development is remarkable.

The award was presented by Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal, President, Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society in the presence of Dato’ Dr. Ooi Kee Beng, Director, Penang Institute. Our guest speaker delivered her lecture on “Planetary Health or Accelerate Our Extinction -We have a Choice”. 

In his welcoming remarks, Dato’ Dr. Ooi admired the passion of the awardee and her deep immersion at the nexus between health, the environment and governance. We all expect more pandemics, disasters and conflicts ahead and require leaders like the awardee to be there to mitigate the effects of these adversities. Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar shared with the audience on stories of Dr. Wu and his health activism on anti-opium campaign. The interconnectedness between humanity and mother earth, and how planetary health provides a comprehensive approach to bend on accelerating our very own extinction.

Professor Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah captivated her audience over her 50 mins lecture. She shared stories of a mother from Mozambique giving birth to a girl while hanging onto a tree during a severe flood and a young girl who died of toxic air pollution in London a decade ago. She showed a wide range of real-world data and reminded us that by now, we have breached six out of the nine planetary boundaries, and will continue to breach more if we do not act now! We were brought through the journey on a variety of issues from food insecurity and food wastage, greenhouse effects, mental health and climate change. She called for collective actions from top-down and bottom-up approach, with focus on three key aspects- governance, communication and education as way forwards. The choice is ours!

“There’s widespread intensifying polarization not only globally, but also locally, nationally and regionally, and all these uncertainties create the new uncertainty complex.

This complexity is made worse by colliding threat and challenges that we face in the world today! “

“Let’s go back to our Anthropocene, humans are only about 0.01% of all life on earth but we have destroyed 83% of wild mammals.

Humans are surprisingly tiny part in the whole story of things on the planet and how we have such disproportionate impact.

It’s about human values- what do we value, how do we make decisions that not only impact us but the planet.”

“In order for humanity to thrive, we need to reset our relationship with the planet.

We all need to rapidly learn to do nearly everything differently:
How do we produce and consume food?
How do we manufacture products?
How do we produce energy?
How do we construct and live in our cities?
How do we manage our natural landscapes and our resources?
How do we co-exist harmoniously and responsibly with social, artificial and digital technology?

We need to recalibrate the stories we tell ourselves about our place in the world, our relationship to nature and
what it means to live a good life and
this requires us to think to rethink!”

“This is really, really important, and last but not least I believe in activism! We need activism!

We need the power and voice of young people, and those who hold public trust.”

The lecture in Penang Institute was attended by 62 physically with 151 views on the live streaming via YouTube channel and Facebook page of Penang Institute.

The Society established the award in March 2022 to recognize the exemplary leaders and their outstanding contributions to the field of public health. Their passion and determination in making a difference for mankind. Their fighting spirit is infectious, and their achievements continue to inspire others. The awardee will be invited to deliver the named Annual Public Lecture of the year. The first awardee was Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Noor Hisham bin Abdullah, Director-General of Health, Malaysia who delivered the 6th named Annual Public Lecture on “Steeling Up Against the Omicron Storm- Is Malaysia Prepared?” in 2022.

The event was adjourned followed by a small tea party for participants and guest speaker at the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Garden.

The full video is accessible at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfkdsimYNiI.

Photos credit: Mr Quah Seng Sun and Ms Ong Siou Woon.

Event coverage: 7th Annual Public Lecture & Presentation of the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health 2023 – Penang Institute

Second Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award for Best Student in Doctor of Public Health, Universiti Malaya 2023

On March 3 2023, President and representatives from the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society attended the award ceremony for the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Award for Best Student in Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Universiti Malaya, organized by Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. There were 7 highly qualified finalists shortlisted for this award. Dr Wong Min Fui @Esther Wong (黄明慧) from Sabah, a mother of two, was the winner for this award second year in running.

Dr Wong completed her Master in Public Health and DrPH over 4 years in time during the COVID-19 pandemic. She developed a digital psychosocial intervention for low income urban dwellers for her project. Her passion working with urban poor community and mental health stemmed from her 12 years working experiences at the primary care and district health office in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur. She owed her success to her family. Growing up in a B40 family is never a barrier to become a successful person. In fact, she becomes more resilient and steadfast. She felt it is not enough to have a good policy in public health, the implementers must belief it works and building trust in order to convince people to actually follow it. 

Dr Wong received congratulatory notes from her DrPH supervisors (Prof. Dr. Hazreen bin Abdul Majid and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mas Ayu binti Said) and strong mandate to go extra miles with her selfless characters from her Head of Department, Professor Dr. Victor Hoe Chee Wai Abdullah. Prof Victor emphasized the importance of self enrichment and enriching the world, living to the value of selflessness with great characters and personalities that touches lives. During the speech by Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal, health activism is a core component of making impacts with positive changes when one like Dr Wu ignited actions and stood up bravely to take the necessary actions.

We also have the first recipient of the award 2021, Dr Wan Kim Sui to join the ceremony. He shared the value of the award in inspiring him going further in his career and life. Post award, he received peer recognition, promotion in his career to National Institutes of Health, Malaysia and invitations from other civil societies for collaborations.

This award was set up by the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society in collaboration with Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya in 2021. It aims to inspire fellow awardees to continue their passion in public health and to follow the footstep of Dr. Wu. Dr. Wu Lien-Teh was a highly respected public health physician and an internationally acclaimed plague fighter in the medical fraternity. Not only was he the first Malayan student who graduated from the University of Cambridge in Medicine, he was also the first nominee from Malaya to be considered for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935. In the advent of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Wu’s contributions as a plague fighter a century ago, right from the face mask design and implementation of a variety of public health measures epitomize his control strategies since the beginning of this pandemic.

The selection process for this award is conducted by an independent panel of academicians set up by the Faculty of Medicine and approved by the Senate of Universiti Malaya, with 4 domains of evaluation (leadership, community engagement, academic standing and professionalism). The awardee receives a medal, RM 1000 cash prize and a certificate from the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society.

Representatives from the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya
Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal A/L Lekhraj Rampal, Acting Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Professor Dr Shahrul Bahyah binti Kamaruzzaman, Deputy Dean (Postgraduate), Faculty of Medicine
Professor Dr. Victor Hoe Chee Wai bin Abdullah, Head, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Professor Dr. Claire Choo Wan Yuen, Acting Head, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine
Professor Dr. Wong Li Ping, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine

Representatives from the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society
Professor Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal, President
Dr. Hor Chee Peng, Secretary- General
Mr. Clement Liang Chow Ming, Honorary Treasurer
Mr. Ronald Quay Ong Guan, Committee Member

Full record of the ceremony is accessible via YouTube: (1) Dr. Wu Lien Teh Award Ceremony – YouTube

Do have a look on the video especially on the congratulatory notes from her supervisors!

More information from media coverage:

Dr Wong Min Fui@Esther Wong Won the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award 2023 for the Best Student in Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Universiti Malaya | Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (um.edu.my)

Winner of award named after Malayan ‘plague fighter’ says driven to help less fortunate | Malay Mail

Health is wealth not just figurative, Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award winner finds | Malay Mail

Winner of award named after Malayan ‘plague fighter’ says driven to help less fortunate (theborneopost.com)

KTemoc Konsiders ……..: Winner of award named after Malayan ‘plague fighter’ says driven to help less fortunate

Dr Wu Lien-Teh Research Award 2021

National Conference for Clinical Research 2021 & Dr Wu Lien-Teh Research Award ceremony 2021 (18-20 Aug 2021)​

NCCR 2021 CONFERENCE18-08-2021 Wednesday 0930- 1000​​​Keynote Address YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah Director General of Health, Ministry of Health, Malaysia

https://fb.watch/7_U6QID5EN/

———-​19-08-2021 Thursday 1130-1300Dr Wu Lien-Teh Research Award Competition (Oral Presentation)

Emcee: Teh Hoon Shien

Oral Presentation Finalists:

  1. Dr Alia Daniella Abdul Halim, Faculty of Medicine, UM / MOH
  2. Sivaraj A/L Raman, Hospital Keningau
  3. Chan Huan Keat, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah
  4. Mahfuzah Ishak, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah
  5. Fara Waheda Jusoh, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah

https://fb.watch/7_UdbPn1rU/

———-20-08-2021 Friday 1215-1230Dr Wu Lien-Teh Research Award Competition Prize Giving Ceremony.

Speech by Dr Hor Chee Peng, Secretary General, Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society

Prize giving ceremony by Dr Kalaiarasu and Dr Hor Chee Peng, the Hon. Secretary of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang

https://fb.watch/7_UuQx5bs0/

New Videos on Dr Wu Lien-Teh in 2021

A few interesting short videos were produced in 2021 which mention Dr. Wu Lien-teh and his contributions to contain pandemic and making of masks.

  1. https://youtu.be/b7OS1lvR9n4 This video was produced by Taylor’s College in conjunction with the National Day of Malaysia 2021
  2. https://youtu.be/nRiLhEsVeQk This video is to celebrate Dr Wu Lien-teh and his amazing contributions that have helped billions of people around thr world with the help of Dr Shan Woo Liu, Ms Ling Woo Liu, Dr Yvonne Ho AM, Mr C K Mak and the international team.

Webinar “Living with COVID-19”

We cordially invite you to join the webinar “Living with COVID-19” co-organized by The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang Institute and Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society.

Date: 12 December 2020, Saturday

Time: 2.00pm

Venue: Webinar (Google Meet)

Please register here: https://livingwithcovid19.eventbrite.com

Note: Participants will receive the link to the webinar in a follow-up email after registration.

The protracted and global nature of the Covid-19 pandemic is having repercussions on daily life—and on international affairs—in ways that no one could have predicted. The 1918 flu pandemic lasted for exactly two years, and this appears to be a reasonable timeline for any plans concerning Covid-19 today.

So how are we to survive Covid-19? Apart from physical survival, what most of us are concerned about is how we will be affected by prolonged lockdowns, by bans on travel, by schools and childcare centres staying closed, by limitations on outdoor and social life and by political control on movements, and sanctions on behaviour. How are we collectively to develop rational and effective ways to get back as well as we can without losing too much of what are beloved parts of our culture. Disorientation is a defining factor for a crisis, and therefore limiting disorientation is a vital goal in fighting a crisis.

This webinar where three medical doctors, and one of Penang’s most innovative social activists, are involved, would like to contribute to this discussion.


Opening remarks by:
1. Dato’ (Dr.) Anwar Fazal (President of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society)
2. Dr Parmjit Singh (President of the Penang Medical Practitioner’s Society)

Speakers:
1. Dr Ong Hean Teik
Topic: Medical facts for living with Covid-19
Dr Ong Hean Teik has been working as a physican and cardiologist in Penang since 1990. He has academic articles published in numerous international medical journals. He has spoken at public forums during the SARS and H1N1 outbreaks in Penang. He is editor of the PMPS annual magazine which focuses on Covid-19 this year.

2. Dr Chow Sze Loon
Topic: Roles of public health in the Covid-19 pandemic: the Penang experience
Dr. Chow Sze Loon served in Sabah after obtaining his medical degree. His involvement in the Flying Doctor Service, Mobile Clinic and visits to the Plantation Health Clinic around Tawau offered him rare and valuable insights into healthcare beyond the scope of the hospital. Upon completing his Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), he was posted as the Port Health Officer in Penang, developing and implementing the necessary core public health capacities at sea port and airport to limit the spread of public health risks. Until July 2020, Dr. Chow was heading the CPRC (Crisis Preparedness & Response Centre) which acts as the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre in Penang State Health Department carrying out the surveillance, preparedness and response activities on infectious diseases outbreak, crisis, disaster and emergency in the state. Currently, he is leading the Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) District Health Office based in Nibong Tebal as the District Health Officer.

3. Dr Chow Ting Soo
Topic: Personal protective measures in clinical practice
Dr Chow Ting Soo is currently a Consultant Physician and Infectious Disease Consultant at the Infectious Disease Unit of the Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. She is also the Penang State Infection Prevention and Control Coordinator since 2016. She received her medical degree from USM. She obtained a membership in the Royal College of Physicians, UK, then further sub-specialised in infectious diseases under the Ministry of Health Malaysia program. Dr Chow then went onto to St. Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst in Sydney to the Infectious Diseases Unit and obtained training in Clinical Microbiology. She has been appointed as a committee member for the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan for the hospital, and at the state level. She has also participated in several clinical research trials for HIV treatments and antibiotics which has been published in international peer reviewed journals.

Moderator: Dato’ Dr Ooi Kee Beng, Executive Director, Penang Institute

See you!

#DrWuLienTehSociety #PenangInstitute #LivingWithCOVID19

WU LIEN-TEH & PUBLIC HEALTH: LESSONS FROM THE PAST FOR THE PRESENT

A collaborative webinar organized by Tech Dome Penang!

COVID-19 is a novel virus which has caused a worldwide pandemic the whole of 2020 and probably still for some time to come but ways to tackle and eventually overcome it may not be new.

We don’t need to look far for past successes when humankind has overcome past epidemics. Dr Wu Lien-Teh, a Penangite who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1935, is widely credited for eradicating the Manchurian Plague by employing methods which are not uncommon to us now; promoting the wearing of masks, isolating and quarantining patients and disinfecting buildings, among others.

In the current pandemic, we see varying levels of success for each nation in their battle against COVID-19. What are the more successful nations doing right as compared to less successful nations? How is it that those countries which were initially successful at containing the spread of the virus are now seeing a new and larger wave of infections? Everyone seems to be focused on the elusive vaccine. Is a vaccine the ultimate solution for us to tame COVID-19?

In this special episode of Science Stream, Dato’ (Dr) Anwar Fazal, Dr Hor Chee Peng and Dr Ong Hean Teik, members of The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society will enlighten us about WU LIEN-TEH & PUBLIC HEALTH: LESSONS FROM THE PAST FOR THE PRESENT.

Get yourself register for the event at https://www.facebook.com/261533194033489/posts/1532411333612329/

#DrWuLienTeh #COVID19 #TechDomePenang

Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society & Malaysian Health Coalition

Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society Joining the Malaysian Health Coalition!

On 11 March 2020, our Society has officially joined the newly established Malaysian Health Coalition (MHC), as representative from the Civil Society Organization! Our President, Dato’ (Dr) Anwar Fazal has also joined as a renowned individual to support the apolitical coalition! We are proud to be part of the 42 members of professional societies and 16 individuals in advocating Health for All for our Rakyat (the people of Malaysia)!

Led by Dr Khor Swee Kheng, MHC was established on 1 March with its ultimate aims dedicated to improving the health of Malaysians, strengthening the Malaysian health system, and supporting Health for All policies.

With the recent evolving COVID-19 pandemic, we have joined the MHC in issuing few joint statements, as co-signatories, to call for united actions in strengthening our health services and system, and empowering our Rakyat to fight against virus!


The joint statements are:

A More Coherent Government Response (20 March 2020)

Public Health for Non-Citizens (24 March 2020)

Holistic Measures Against COVID-19 (28 March 2020) [Bahasa Kebangsaan]

Strengthening Health Expertise in Government Decisions (2 April 2020)

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to Fight COVID-19 (5 April 2020)

Ensuring Adequate Numbers of Health Professionals (8 April 2020)

Additional Measures during MCO Phase 3 (11 April 2020)

There will be more joint statements in the future, which can be accessed from the home page of Malaysian Health Coalition.


Silent Battle: Modern Epidemics and Legacy of Dr Wu Lien-Teh

A public seminar organised by the Centre for Chinese Studies and World History Club, Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR) on 7th March 2020, Heritage Hall, UTAR.

Dr Henry Chong Ren Jie (庄仁杰博士) from Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies gave a succinct history account on Dr Wu Lien Teh (伍连德:医生与社会) in Chinese language for the morning session, while Dr Hor Chee Peng from the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang delivered a talk on Dr Wu’s legacy and life journey (Dr Wu Lien-Teh: Plague Fighter! When the West met the East!) in English Language for the afternoon session!

The crowd also received a brief updates on the current COVID19 epidemic, individual and community prevention! No hand shake! Hand hygiene! Cough etiquette! Don’t panic! Don’t spread fake news! And of course, some reflections on how Dr Wu’s effort in combating plague more than 110 years ago in Northern Manchurian became relevant for modern epidemics!