Milestones of the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya 1949-1983

1948	-1960 – Malayan Emergency
1948	Ulu Yam Massacre by the British in Selangor
1949	University Malaya was formed by merger of KE VII College of Medicine and Raffles College.
1949	College of Medicine became the Faculty of Medicine when University Malaya was established in Singapore.
1950	University Malaya confers its first Degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) on 17 graduates. Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail @ Coco was in this first batch.
1950	Queen’s Scholarship was introduced for KE VII graduates to pursue postgraduate studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Natrah Incidence (Peristiwa Natrah). Natrah was Maria Hertogh (13), a Dutch girl born in Bandung who married Mansur Adabi (22). Dr Ahmad Ibrahim presided over the heart-breaking case that ensued. He is the son of Dr Mohamed Ibrahim bin Sheikh Ismail, an early Malay doctor (1892-1962).
1952	Construction of a 2-storey building behind the Tan Teck Guan Building for classrooms and labs.
1953	Housemanship was introduced.
1957	Department of Pharmacy, UM Singapore offered its first 3-year course.
1957	31 August – The Federation of Malaya was formed. This was the Malayan Independence or Merdeka. There were 53 Malay doctors with either LMS or MBBS medical degrees. LMS was issued from 1910 to 1949. MBBS was issued from 1950 onward.
1959	University Malaya became 2 autonomous divisions at 2 campuses, one in Singapore and another in Kuala Lumpur. The Faculty of Medicine operated as the Faculty of Medicine of UM in Singapore. An early Malay doctor, Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail was Council Member of the University Malaya from 1 January 1959-14 May 1987.
1961	Set up of the Postgraduate Medical Studies Committee.
1962	The Singapore division became the University of Singapore and the Kuala Lumpur division became University Malaya. Prof T Danaraj became the first Dean of the medical faculty at University Malaya in KL.
1963	16 September – The Federation of Malaya became a larger country geographically when Malaya, Singapore, Sabah & Sarawak combined to form Malaysia. Malaysia had 2 big sister universities, one in Singapore and the other in KL.
1965	Singapore became an independent Republic of Singapore on 9 August 1965. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Singapore was formed in August 1965. Anwar Ibrahim was the Chief Protocol Officer at MFA Singapore. He was the son of Dr Mohamed Ibrahim bin Sheikh Ismail (1892-1962), an early Malay doctor.
1967	Professor Christiaan Neethling Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on 3 December 1967.
1969	School of Postgraduate Medical Studies was formed.
1969	13 May – riots (also referred to as the 13 May Incidences).  The riots occurred in Kuala Lumpur following the results of the election held then. Though political, the actual trigger of the riots remains unknown. A dark moment in Malaysia's history. The Deputy Prime Minister, also an early Malay doctor, Tun Dr Ismail (1915-1973) delivered his address to calm the nation and halt further bloodshed. The killings stopped and Malaysians continued to live as one.
1983	Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) was officially opened by KDYMM Al-Sultan Kelantan Sultan Ismail Petra on 26 August 1983.

Citation: Milestones of the Faculty of Medicine - UM 1949-1983, The Early Malay Doctors, 2011, Faridah Abdul Rashid, online blog