The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Malaya (in Singapore) was established in 1952. Prior to this, the teaching of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University was undertaken by the Department of Surgery under the Professor of Surgery and Professor of Clinical Surgery. From a course consisting of 15 weekly classes on fractures for 18 undergraduates in the late 1930s, and the clinical postings in orthopaedic surgery for over 40 students in 1952, the programme now encompasses an exposure to musculoskeletal diseases and trauma in all 5 years of the undergraduate course. Over this time, the spectrum of clinical conditions has also changed, and with it the emphasis on the conditions to be taught; from that dealing primarily with tuberculosis of bones and joints, poliomyelitis, and childhood deformity, to those resulting from degenerative disorders, sports injuries, industrial and motor vehicle accidents, and cancer. The students are now taught orthopaedic surgery in all the major public hospitals. Local postgraduate training programmes for orthopaedic surgery started in the 1980s. From 1993, a more structured training and assessment programme was introduced for basic and advanced training in surgery and orthopaedics. Advanced trainees rotate through the various teaching hospitals to expose them to a wider range of orthopaedic problems as well as teachers. The postgraduate training programme is now well established, and Singapore is accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh as an orthopaedic training centre for higher surgical training.
Mahathir Mohamad was born in 1925 in Alor Star, Kedah. He entered the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore in 1947 and graduated in 1953. His years in the medical school equipped young Mahathir with the training necessary to assess and diagnose a problem, before dispensing the appropriate treatment. Throughout his later years in the political limelight, Dr Mahathir recognised the very important role the medical college had in laying the strong foundation for his successful career. He joined UMNO in 1945, already interested in politics at the tender age of 20; he was first elected into Parliament in 1964. The vigorous expression of his candid views did not go down well during the troubled days following the 13 May 1969 racial riots and he was expelled from UMNO, his writings were banned, and he was considered a racial extremist. Nevertheless, his intellectual and political influence could not be ignored for long; he returned to Parliament in 1974, and became the fourth, and longest serving, Prime Minister of Malaysia in 1981. Dr Mahathir has found fame as a Malay statesman, and an important Asian leader of the twentieth century with much written, locally and internationally, debating his policies. This article, using Dr Mahathir's own writings, starts with his description of his early life, proceeds to look at his medical career, then touches on his diagnosis of the problems plaguing the Malays, before concluding with his views on the need to stand up to the prejudices and pressures of the Western world. Throughout his life, Dr Mahathir behaved as the ever-diligent medical doctor, constantly studying the symptoms to diagnose the cause of the ills in his community and country, before proceeding to prescribe the correct treatment to restore good health. It is a measure of his integrity and intellectual capability that he did not seek to hide his failures, or cite unfinished work in an attempt to cling to political power.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was a medical student at the King Edward VII College of Medicine from 1947 to 1953. He described his student days with fondness; he made many friends while he was at the College. He recounted his early days as a doctor before he entered politics in 1964. He became the fourth and longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years from 1981 to 2003. He concluded "The contribution of my Medical College days in Singapore to the racial harmony, peace and prosperity of Malaysia is tangible but unquantifiable."
This article traces briefly the origins of medical education in the early years of the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Penang and Malacca), which culminated in the founding of Medical School in Singapore in 1905. The first attempt was made in the early 19th century, when boys were recruited from local schools as Medical Apprentices to be trained as "assistant doctors". They were to assist the British doctors and doctors from India in running the medical services. This scheme was not successful. There are 3 landmark years in the evolution of medical education in the Straits Settlements, namely 1852, 1867 and 1904. In 1852, the Governor, to relieve the shortage of staff in the Medical Department, instructed the Principal Civil Medical Officer to organise a proper course of training for Medical Apprentices and to establish a local Medical Service. This scheme was also unsuccessful and the Straits Settlements continued to rely on doctors recruited from India. In 1867, the Straits Settlements were transferred from the India Office to the Colonial Office and became a Crown Colony. The Indian Government requested that all its doctors be sent back. This would have led to the collapse of the Straits Settlements Medical Service. As a stop-gap measure, the Governor offered the Indian doctors appointment in the new Straits Settlements Medical Service, and at the same time arranged with the Madras Government for boys from the Straits Settlements to be trained in its Medical Colleges. The first 2 boys were sent in 1869. In 1889, the Principal Civil Medical Officer proposed to the Governor that a Medical School should be founded in Singapore, but not enough candidates passed the preliminary entrance examination. The plan was shelved and boys continued to be sent to Madras for training. In 1902, the Committee on English Education proposed that a Medical School should be started in Singapore, but senior British doctors opposed this. On 8 September 1904, Mr Tan Jiak Kim and other local community leaders petitioned the Governor to start a Medical School, raised enough funds to establish the School and the Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School (predecessor of the King Edward VII College of Medicine, and the Faculties of Medicine, University of Singapore and University of Malaya) was founded on 3 July 1905.
The Medical Alumni is unique in being the oldest alumni association with medical, dental and pharmacy graduates from our seminal medical school, that has now evolved into the faculties of medicine in 2 countries, namely Malaysia and Singapore. Founded in 1923, the medical alumni association has undergone several name changes with its evolution and activism. After the Japanese Occupation, it was given its present name in 1947, comprising 3 branches working under a common Constitution operating in 2 separate countries. It is also unique in being the only association recognised by the Registrar of Societies with membership in 2 countries. Following the development of medical professional and academic bodies, the medical alumni wound down its medico-political activities to concentrate on providing social and mutual support for its members and its alma mater.
The history of medical physics in Asia-Oceania goes back to the late nineteenth century when X-ray imaging was introduced, although medical physicists were not appointed until much later. Medical physics developed very quickly in some countries, but in others the socio-economic situation as such prevented it being established for many years. In others, the political situation and war has impeded its development. In many countries their medical physics history has not been well recorded and there is a danger that it will be lost to future generations. In this paper, brief histories of the development of medical physics in most countries in Asia-Oceania are presented by a large number of authors to serve as a record. The histories are necessarily brief; otherwise the paper would quickly turn into a book of hundreds of pages. The emphasis in each history as recorded here varies as the focus and culture of the countries as well as the length of their histories varies considerably.
Malaysia plays the leading role in homeopathy in Southeast Asia. The history of homeopathy in the Malay civilization began in the 1930s. Since then, it has been practiced mainly by Malays who are all Muslims. Homeopathy in multiethnic Malaysia is embedded in Islamic culture and has to do with ethnic identity of the Malays within the Malay/non-Malay dichotomy of the society. This survey explores the relationships between homeopathy and Malay traditional medicine, as well as between homeopathy and Islam.
In the concluding part of her war diary, Brenda MacDuff, a nurse with the Colonial Nursing Service in Malaya, tells of her final incarceration, eventual freedom and reunion with her husband.
In Part 1 of her war diary, Brenda MacDuff, a nurse with the Colonial Nursing Service in Malaya, tells of her early experiences in the country at the outbreak of war in the East and of her subsequent capture by the Japanese Army.
The article is dedicated to the life and work of Dr. Roy Selby (1930-2002), an American neurosurgeon who founded neurosurgery in Malaysia. Dr. Selby stayed in Malaysia from July 1963 to May 1970. He opened the first neurosurgical department at the general hospital in Kuala Lumpur and established a training program under which Malaysian physicians and nurses were sent to neurosurgery centers in the United States and Canada. Some physicians came back and headed local neurosurgical units. On his return to the United States, Dr. Selby practiced neurosurgery until 1986, when he had to give it up due to the impact of progressive congestive heart failure. From 1986 to 1994, Dr. Selby taught graduate courses in the Department of Psychology at East Texas State University, Texarkana, Texas. He was a pioneer of spinal surgery and founded the Lumbar Spine Society. Dr. Selby was a world citizen neurosurgeon and advocated international standards of training in neurosurgery. From 1985 to 1994, he was chairman of the Archives Committee of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Selby serves as a model of a physician as a humanist.