It is hard to imagine it now, but there was a time when the global Covid-19 pandemic was but a small blimp on the global landscape, having been reported as only an emerging disease from China. However in late 2019, it quickly swept across the globe, with the very first cases being detected in Malaysia on January 24th, 2020.
This would subsequently be followed by the announcement of a nationwide lockdown known as the Movement Control Order, which occurred on March 18th, 2020 under the tenure of former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
And it was during this period of uncertainty that the Ministry of Health’s Director-General, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, quickly became a steadfast and constant figure in the lives of many Malaysians.
Offering crucial updates on the ongoing Covid-19 situation in Malaysia and guidance to the government in navigating the pandemic with regards to Covid-19 protocols and vaccine procurements, he quickly gained prominence for being a national hero during this period.
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to retire this month
Now, after 35 years of continued service to the nation’s healthcare sector, Dr Noor Hisham has announced that he will be taking a bow from professional medicine upon his retirement on April 21st, 2023. This comes as the decorated doctor reaches 60-years-old, which is the mandatory age of retirement for civil servants in Malaysia, reports The Star.
“Retirement is the next chapter of life. It’s a life journey. I will cross one bridge at a time,” he told the English-language newspaper.
Speaking on account of his contributions during the Covid-19 crisis, he has described it as being a ‘memorable part’ of his medical journey, especially as the nation joins other countries across the world in emerging from the pandemic into normalcy.
But of course, Dr Noor Hisham’s reputation in the industry far precedes his work in Covid-19. Born on 21st April 1963 under the name of Yew Ming Seon to a impoverished Chinese family of Fuzhou descent in Sepang, he was raised by his single mother during his formative years.
Noor Hisham was eventually adopted by an ustaz, who was the principal of his upper secondary school, Kolej Islam Klang (KIK), enabling him to obtain an education. In 1988, he obtained a medical doctorate degree, followed by Master in Surgery in 1994, both from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
35 years of service in public healthcare
Formally, he entered public service in 1988 as a houseman at the Kuala Lumpur University Hospital and would go on to specialise in the Accident and Emergency Department a year later. Upon obtaining his Masters of Surgery, he worked as a general surgeon for three years in Hospital Terengganu.
This was followed by endocrinology fellowship training at a number of Australian institutes. He was later appointed Head of the Breast and Endocrine Surgery Unit at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital in 1999, after completing his fellowship training. In 2002, he moved to Putrajaya Hospital as its Head and Senior Consultant of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, a position which he holds to this day.
As for his role as Director-General at the Ministry of Health, Hisham was first appointed as the Deputy Director-General in 2008 and served for five years before being promoted as Director-General proper.
Where recognition is concerned, Hisham was most notable for being the first Malaysian International Surgical Society (ISS) Global Surgery Committee chairman from 2017 to 2021, as well as being the the chair of the first WHO Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
What’s more, he was awarded the International Surgical Fellowship Award from the International Society of Surgery (ISS) during the ‘Virtual Surgical Week’ in 2021. Hisham also sits on the Asian Association of Endocrine Surgeons as its Chairman since being elected in 2020.
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