Tuesday 8 March 2011

Early Medical Programmes and Degrees Conferred in Singapore and Malaysia 1905-1960



Information to construct the following table on the early medical programmes and degrees conferred by Singapore and Malaysia were obtained by interviewing two KE VII medical graduates, Tan Sri Dr Raja Ahmad Noordin bin Raja Shahbuddin (Class of 1956) and Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail (Class of 1950). The interviews were held separately in May 2007. Tan Sri Dr Raja Ahmad Noordin was interviewed at home in Petaling Jaya while Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid was interviewed in his office in Jalan Damai, Kuala Lumpur.

Early Medical Programmes and Degrees Conferred in Singapore and Malaysia 1905-1960
Year
Name of Medical School / Event
Duration of Study
Degree Conferred
1905
Straits Settlement and Federated Malay States Government Medical School
5 years
LMS
1913
King Edward VII Medical School (KE VII Medical School)
5 years
LMS
1921
King Edward VII College of Medicine (KE VII College of Medicine)
5 years
LMS
1923
King Edward VII College of Medicine (KE VII College of Medicine)
6 years
LMS
1939
Merger of King Edward VII College of Medicine with Raffles College of Arts and Science into a university college
6 years
LMS
1942
College of Medicine ceased operation due to Japanese Occupation during WWII
ceased

1943
Marei Ika Daigaku or Syonan Medical College operated in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Medium of instruction was Japanese.
resumed

1944
Syonan Medical College operated in Malacca General Hospital (ended in 1945). Medium of instruction was Japanese.
shifted

1946
King Edward VII College of Medicine reopened in postwar Singapore
resumed as normal

1949
Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya was established in Singapore
faculty-based teaching

1950
First batch of postwar graduands attended convocation without their pre-ordered graduation gowns due to late delivery. First batch to receive MBBS instead of LMS. Still in Singapore.
10 years
(lost 5 years to war)
MBBS
UM (S’pore)
1951
Second batch of postwar graduands attended convocation with their graduation gowns,  the first time the gowns were used
5 years
MBBS
UM (S’pore)
1960
Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya operated in KL campus
5 years
MBBS
UM (KL)
 LMS = Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery; KE VII = King Edward VII


Citation: Early Medical Programmes and Degrees Conferred in Singapore and Malaysia 1905-1960. The Early Malay Doctors, 2011, Faridah Abdul Rashid, online blog

Hospital Bangsar / Bangsar Hospital / European Hospital



The European Hospital in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur was also known as the Bangsar Hospital by the locals. The buildings have been demolished to make way for the Public Health Institute (PHI).

Since two people have asked for photos of "Bangsar Hospital" so far, I have created this post to cater to those needs and for many more who will need the same photos.

I had obtained information about Hospital Bangsar from Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail, the second Director-General of Health Malaysia when I interviewed him at his office in May 2007. 

The photos of Hospital Bangsar in this post are from Mr Arasu who obtained them recently from Arkib Negara Malaysia (Malaysian National Archives) in Kuala Lumpur. More photos are in his Facebook account. Link to Arasu in Facebook. You may want to get more photos from Arkib Negara. Arasu is planning on a reunion for everyone who had been involved with Hospital Bangsar.

For captions to these photos, please join Arasu's Facebook as he has described them all. He has lived on the grounds of this hospital as his father was once a gardener there.


EUROPEAN HOSPITAL / BANGSAR HOSPITAL in KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

These photos of the hospital are from the Malaysian National Archives.
I got them from Arasu in Facebook, who obtained them from the Archives.

Photos courtesy of Arkib Negara Malaysia.