UKM to establish academic research platform named after Dr Wan Azizah

UNIVERSITI Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Yayasan Aman plan to establish an academic research platform named after former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to recognise her contributions to women’s welfare and national development.

This was formalised through the signing of a Letter of Intent by both parties recently.

According to the collaboration coordinator, Malay World and Civilisation (ATMA) Research Fellow Dr Mohd Faizal Musa, Dr Wan Azizah was selected in recognition of her status as a prominent public figure, particularly during her tenure as Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister from 2018 to 2020.

Among Dr Wan Azizah’s most notable and tangible contributions to social protection for vulnerable women was her determined effort to introduce the EPF i-Suri programme.

Introduced in August 2018 under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the programme recognises homemakers’ contributions to their families and the national economy.

Its impact enabled registered homemakers, single mothers, widows and unmarried women listed in the eKasih system to receive a special government incentive, in addition to annual EPF dividends and death benefits.

In less than a year of implementation, more than 111,000 women had successfully registered under the EPF i-Suri programme.

In addition, Dr Wan Azizah took firm action to address underage marriage by launching the National Strategic Plan to Address the Causes of Underage Marriage (2020–2025).

The plan charted a coordinated approach involving various federal agencies, state governments and NGOs to strengthen customary, Syariah and civil laws concerning the minimum age for marriage.

She also introduced a national social emergency support system by upgrading the Kasih Line 15999 to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This enabled victims of domestic violence, child abuse and individuals experiencing mental distress to obtain immediate emergency assistance and counselling at any time.

At the same time, she was responsible for initiating the preparation of the first draft of the Sexual Harassment Act and strengthening existing laws to protect children from sexual predators.

This included the establishment of a database of child sex offenders.

“The recognition and selection of Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is also consistent with her distinction as the first Malaysian to receive the prestigious MacNaughton-Jones Gold Medal for academic excellence in 1977, while studying medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Dublin,” added Dr Mohd Faizal.

As is widely known, Dr Wan Azizah holds a medical degree from the college and completed postgraduate training in ophthalmology at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom.

Dr Wan Azizah is also a recipient of the Education Figure Award from the College of Physicians Malaysia, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to education, particularly in medical training.

It is expected that Dr Wan Azizah’s stature and achievements will help open avenues for further academic research, scholarly publications and social initiatives in the fields of leadership, economics, medicine, arts and culture, and social policy development in the Malay World. – November 6, 2026