Sunday 12 August 2012

History of Medicine in Malaya - Who were the early Malay doctors?



TELEHEALTH RESEARCH GROUP
SCHOOL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA
16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan
Malaysia 


History of Medicine in Malaya - Who were the early Malay doctors?

by Faridah Abdul Rashid. Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemical Pathology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus. 1 January 2006


There is a lot not written about the history of medicine in Malaya (previously), now Malaysia. The history of medicine in Malaya is fragmented, mostly narrated by grandparents and parents.

Up until Search 4 (22 January 2005), two people (Dr. Bakiah and En. Mohd. Fadli) have e-mailed me to ask for clarification with regard to the definition of 'early'. I know that the word 'early' has a primitive connotation, as if we had doctors in the Stone Age period! 'Early' in the context of writing the history of medicine for telehealth should be taken to mean burgeoning (membangun dengan pesat). The source of inspiration to write this article is to focus on the activities of the few doctors who were serving Malaya at the time when folk medicine was dominant and western medicine was not widely accepted or practised in the land of the Malays (Tanah Melayu). What I had in mind initially was to bank every Malay doctor's name for our Telehealth records for Malaysia. This includes those who are serving overseas. But the task seems daunting, next to impossible. So, I decided to start somewhere by limiting the time frame instead. The easiest would be for me to collect their names in batches; the first batch beginning 1900 up until our independence, 31 August 1957 (Merdeka), - this is what I regard as 'early'. So I have used the phrase 'early Malay doctors' to essentially refer to those Malay doctors who graduated between 1900 and 31 August 1957. If I use the term "pre-independence", this may seem to put a political connotation to what I feel should be limited to medicine and its intrinsics, since I am trying to write for telehealth and not politics. Similarly, the batch of doctors following Merdeka can be referred as 'Malaysia's modern doctors' or 'Malaysia's 21st Century doctors' which sounds futuristic (food for thought if anyone is considering writing about our doctors for the post-Merdeka period).

I had a chance to discuss about our roots in medicine after Search 44 on 8 June 2005 with En. Fadli Ghani (Kuala Lumpur), Dr. Abu Kholdun Al-Mahmood (Dhaka, Bangladesh), Tengku Ahmad Damitri Al-Astani bin Tengku Din (Kelantan), En. Fauzi Man (Kelantan) and my husband, Affandi Hussien (Kelantan). It seems that our roots in medicine is a continuum from the time of the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. and Avicenna and even earlier. En. Fadli has clearly pointed this out and I have spoken to a number of Malay men who also agree that some of the medical practices date back to the time of the prophets.

Search Index 1-50

Search Index 1-50


TELEHEALTH  RESEARCH GROUP
SCHOOL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA
16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan
Malaysia

History of Medicine in Malaya - Who were the early Malay doctors? 
 
by Faridah Abdul Rashid. Associate Professor, 
Dept. of Chemical Pathology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus.
+++++++++++++++++++++++  

Search Index 1-50:
Search #
Search Date
Content Provider/
Source/ Reference
Contents/KEVII Doctors
Sept 2002
CCM
FAR
NUS
Abdul Latiff bin Abdul Razak (1885?-1958)
S Kassim (March 1912)
HS Moonshi (March 1916)
Pandak Ahmad b Allang Samin (Pandak Ahmad b Alang Sidin) (March 1916)
Md Ibrahim (August 1916)
Md Baboo (March 1917)
IM Ghows (August 1917)
Hamzah b Taib (March 1923)
Hussein b Md Ibrahim (Hussin b Mohamed Ibrahim)(March 1924)
Nizamuddin Ahmad (Nizamudding Ahmad) (March 1929)
Che Lah b Mohd Joonos (March 1930)
PN
IMR
Raja Ahmad Noordin
Ungku Omar Ahmad
Nov 2003
FAR
TSC
WCLS
OAR
80th reunion gala dinner held by the Alumni   Association of the KEVII College of Medicine, Universities of Malaya and Singapore in Mariott Putrajaya Malaysia on 29 November 2003:
Tan Sri Abdul Majid
Tan Sri Dr. Abu Bakar
Tan Sri Raja Ahmad Nordin
Dr. Amir Abbas
Nov 2004
FAR
Dato' Dr. Haji Mohammed
Jan 2005
MFG
Jan 2005
FAR
Dato' Dr. Hj. Che Lah Md. Joonos
26 Jan 2005
MFG
1 May 2005
MFG
1 May 2005
MFG
1 May 2005
MFG
1 May 2005
CJS
"Approaching 100 Years ..."
2 May 2005
RAS
Jendela issue 3/2004
2 May 2005
Newspaper
FAR
3 UKM professors
2 May 2005
Newspaper
FAR
"Malay history a click away" (ATMA)
3 May 2005
Newspaper
FAR
"A labour of love"
3 May 2005
MFG
4 May 2005
MFG
4 May 2005
MFG
4 May 2005
MFG
4 May 2005
Internet
FAR
"Tuan Syed Shaidali"
4 May 2005
CJS
"To Sail Uncharted Seas"
4 May 2005
MFG
4 May 2005
FAR
Jendela issue 3/2004
4 May 2005
MFG
5 May 2005
MFG
5 May 2005
MFG
5 May 2005
MFG
6 May 2005
Internet
FAR
US National Library of Medicine (NLM)
7 May 2005
Internet
FAR
NUSS
11 May 2005
Internet
FAR
Malay Civilization (ATMA), UKM
11 May 2005
UIA
FAR
"Monograph on Selected Malay Intellectuals"
20 May 2005
NAM
20 May 2005
Internet
FAR
Koperasi Doktor Malaysia Berhad
20 May 2005
Internet
FAR
Sabri Zain
20 May 2005
Internet
FAR
Royal Professor Ungku Aziz
20 May 2005
Internet
FAR
Professor Ramlah Adam
20 May 2005
USM ILL
FAR
"Origins of Malay Nationalism"
24 May 2005
GG
RAS
Dr. Ghazaime Ghazalie; En. Ramli Abdul Samad; Dr. Bakri Musa; Malaysiakini.com (www.malaysiakini.com);
24 May 2005
DRS
24 May 2005
ICHS
Dato' Professor Dr. Hashim Yaacob
Professor Dr. Ikram Shah Ismail
Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah bt. Haji Mohd. Ali (Class of 1947)
Dato' Prof. Dr. Anuar Zaini
24 May 2005
DO
Dato' Dr. Ezanee Marican
Dr. Aziz
Tun Dr. Ismail
24 May 2005
SMCM
ZH
Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine (SMCM), 30 June - 3 July 2005
25 May 2005
MBM
Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid Ismail @ "Coco" Majid
Ariffin Ngah Marzuki
ALhady
25 May 2005
Star
Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid Ismail @ "Coco" Majid
25 May 2005
RA
Sejarah Tingkatan 5
28 July 2005
Star
MMC; Penang hospitals
28 July 2005
MBM
RAS
"Malay Customs and Traditions"
28 July 2005
FAR
MFG; NHO; ex-TKC
28 July 2005
MBM
Tan Sri Dr. Abdul Majid Ismail @ "Coco Majid"
Dr. Aljafri Majid
Dr. Awang from Johor Bahru (JB)
Dr. Yahya Awang
Dr. Hussein Awang
Dr. Ariffin Marzuki
Dr. Ungku Omar
Dr. Hussein Salleh
29 July 2005
BH
Ustaz Wan Mohd. Shaghir Abdullah
30 July 2005
MSN
Dr. Hamzah Hj. Taib (Class of 1923)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CCM = Mr. Chung Chee Min (retired teacher, Canada)
PN = Puan Nazni (IMR)
FAR = Assoc. Prof. Faridah Abdul Rashid (USM, Kelantan)
TSC = Dr. Teo Soo Choo (NUS)
WCLS = Dr. William Chew Loy Soong (NUS)
NUS = National University of Singapore
OAR = Office of Alumni Relations, NUS
IMR = Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, KL
MFG = En. Mohd. Fadli Ghani (KL)
CJS = Professor Cheah Jin Seng (NUS)
RAS = En. Ramli Abdul Samad (Library, USM, Penang)
ATMA = Institut Alam dan Tamadun Melayu (Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation) 
UKM = Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
UIA = Universiti Islam Antarabangsa
NAM = Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norsidah Abdul Manap (HUKM)
USM ILL = USM Interlibrary Loan
GG = Dr. Ghazaime Ghazali (now Hospital Perdana, Kota Bharu)
DRS = Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Rashidah Shuib (Women's Developmemt, USM, Kelantan)
DO = Daijabu oishi or Pak Man (unidentified contributor)
ZH = Prof. Zabidi Azhar Mohd. Hussin (Pediatrics, USM, Kelantan)
MBM = Dr. M. Bakri Musa (Columnist, Malaysiakini, California)
Star = TheStar online
RA = Professor Ramlah Adam (Historian, UM)
NHO = Professor Nor Hayati Othman (Pathology, USM, Kelantan)
ex-TKC = ex-Tunku Kurshiah College, Seremban
BH = Berita Harian
MSN = En. Mohammad Shidek Nazaran (KL)


Telehealth Research Group
School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Home: http://www.medic.usm.my/~telehealth/
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First received: Thursday, March 13, 2003 11:32 PM
Last revised: 9 November 2005