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