KUALA LUMPUR – It was only fitting that an epidemiologist became the first recipient of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for the best medical student for the Doctor of Public Health Degree at Universiti Malaya here.
Dr Wan Kim Sui was adjudged the top student among his peers and the recognition was even sweeter as he was also a frontliner throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
In winning the new award, Dr Wan inherits the honour of carrying out the struggle of many epidemiologists before him in containing and curing highly transmissible diseases.
The establishment of the award was made possible by the collaboration between Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society and Universiti Malaya, the oldest university in the country, when both parties signed a memorandum of understanding, virtually, last year.
Dr Wan received the award from former health director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohamed Ismail Merican, who is an honorary adviser to the society.
The award was named after Penang-born Dr Wu, who was credited in China for inventing a surgical face mask to fight the contagious Manchurian plague in China between 1910 and 1911.
The mask invented by Dr Wu was then made of cotton and gauze, and its design was the basis for the development of its modern version – the N95 respirator mask, which is believed to be among the top shields against the highly transmissible coronavirus.
“I am truly honoured to receive this inaugural award. While I feel elated, I am humbled as what I have done or achieved is relatively insignificant as compared to Dr Wu.
“Nevertheless, I will take this recognition as an inspiration for me to work harder, and hopefully contribute to public health and the society,” Dr Wan said.
He was bestowed with a gold medal, RM1,000 and a recognition certificate.
His criteria for selection was for writing 30 articles, which were published in English, Malay, and Mandarin.
Dr Wan’s leadership qualities were evident when he was working in the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre Covid-19 Surveillance Room in 2020.
He published an article describing the implementation of a surveillance programme for healthcare workers in a teaching hospital.
Dr Ismail said that the award, which was presented on Friday, marked a special day not only to celebrate the inaugural event but also to acknowledge that 62 years ago on the same date, Dr Wu collapsed from a stroke at his home in Penang and eventually passed on.
He was 81 years old.
According to Dr Ismail, Dr Wu was a respected public health physician and an internationally acclaimed plague fighter in the medical fraternity.
The state think tank, the Penang Institute, set up a Dr Wu Lien-Teh Herb Garden in its compound in Jalan Brown to let people know about his research on herbal medicine.
State Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow during the launch of the garden last year said that to commemorate the legend, a residential area in Penang would be named after Dr Wu as Taman Wu Lien Teh, and a road will also be renamed as Jalan Dr Wu Lien Teh.
Founded in 2012, the society was established to celebrate the son of then-Malaya, a legendary and visionary public health physician for his contribution to healthcare, and a social activist who stood up for justice and community development.
His life story and achievements are an inspiration for future doctors.
The society’s president, Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal, is also a legend in his own right and had also established the oldest civil society in the country – the Consumers Association of Penang. – The Vibes, January 23, 2022
