Professor Datin Dr Farida Jamal

I had just completed my marathon of four lectures, the last one this morning, when I stepped outside Dewan Kuliah 3 and met two ladies - Prof Nor Hayati Othman and Prof Datin Dr Farida Jamal. I went and greeted both. Then that went on rapidly to a short photo session outside DK3.

I met Prof Datin Dr Farida Jamal for the first time today. We walked down to the Deputy Deans' offices, and sat in the lounge to talk. It was a wonderful meeting as both Prof Datin Dr Farida Jamal and I share a love for History of Medicine. She knows a lot about History of Medicine than I do. I am a beginner but she is a professional. 

Prof Datin Dr Farida Jamal is a fantastic lady. She speaks English, Urdu and fluent Malay. Nobody knows that she was born in Pakistan and therefore she is a Pakistani. We talked about her background and a lot about History of Medicine. She was born to an educated father and had an educated grandfather. The family still keeps records of the daily writings of her grandfather, and her father who is now 97. There are books published about both the gentlemen. Her grandfather was Qiyam Uddin Abdul Bari. She wrote in my diary 'Farangi Mahall' (not Googled this yet). Her father is Jamaluddin, who is also popularly known as Jamal Mian. Professor Francis Robinson has published books about them. She mentions that Hakeem in those days were medical doctors. The madrasah curriculum in the old days had medicine as part of the curriculum. Even in her grandfather's madrasah, they taught medicine.

Prof Datin Dr Farida Jamal is married to a Malay surgeon, Prof Dato' Dr Syed Noori - brother of Dr Syed Mahmood bin Syed Hussain Jamalullail. According to her, Dr Syed Mahmood went to Pakistan to seek his brother's marriage to her. Her father happily agreed to her marriage proposal, upon seeing Dr Syed Mahmood's gentle ways and manners, a reflection of a fine upbringing. Prof Farida then married to Dr Syed Noori.

Dr Farida Jamal came to Malaysia in the 1970s and had to take the Malaysian exam, Peperiksaan Am Kerajaan, as all Malaysian government servants were required to. That was when she studied Malaysian history and that has since kept her on the path of our history. 

Apart from her academic teaching at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Serdang, she is now also involved as a guide for schoolchildren at the National Museum in KL.

She is a member of many professional societies. She mentioned briefly the activities of some of the associations. There is the Asian Society for History and the International Society for History of Medicine. She mentioned that a historian named Sami K. Hamerneh had published a book on people interested in the history of medicine in Malaysia, some 15-20 years ago. She mentioned Hamdand Mir, a university in New Delhi which offers a four-year degree course in the History of Medicine. The graduates are professionals and certified for practice - they are much sought after. There is also the Hamdard Foundation in Pakistan and the Madinat Ul Hikmah in Karachi. She mentioned the book Tasrih I Mansuri is a must read. She also mentioned Bimaristan, the ancient hospital in Baghdad. She also advised to look at the Dars E Nizami (university) where the curriculum offers both modern medicine (allopathic medicine) and traditional medicine (tibb). She mentioned that the Wellcome Trust Foundation also offers a course in the History of Medicine.

Prof Farida Jamal informed that Dr Syed Mahmood bin Syed Hussain Jamalullail had passed away on 30 November 2011. FYI His relative, Prof Syed Mohsin bin Syed Sahil Jamalullail passed away on 6 November 2011 in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. Al-Fatihah for both the men.

Prof Farida Jamal's publications (searched by Google):

1. Farida J, George J, Abdul Hamid A, Darus A. Pharyngeal carriage of group A Streptococcus in Malaysian schoolchildren. The Family Practitioner 1986; 9(1):38-39.
2. Farida J, Mohd Sham K, George R, Ali Azman M, Zooraidah Z. Group A Streptococcal skin infection in childhood. The Family Practitioner 1985; 8(2):53-56.
3. Farida J, Nasuruddin A, Robaayah Z. Rheumatic heart disease in referred cases: Experience at a cardiology centre. The Family Practitioner 1988; 11(1 & 2):46-47.
4. Farida J, Sabiha P, Zooraidah Z. Pharyngeal carriage of group A Streptococcus amongst schoolchildren. Asian Medical Journal 1995; 38(1):47-51.

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From: "Zaidah Abdul Rahman" <drzaidah@kb.usm.my>
To: "staf" <staf@groups.wargakk.usm.my>
Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2012 3:51:52 PM GMT +08:00
Subject: [staf] [Hebahan] Ceramah oleh Pemeriksa luar (UPM)

dear all

Satu ceramah dan diikuti oleh sessi perbincangan akan diadakan di Jabatan Mikrobiologi esok.
Detail adalah seperti di bawah:

Penceramah: Prof. Datin Dr Farida Jamal (Clinical Microbiologist) from UPM
Tajuk: Research opportunities in microbiology
Tarikh ; 14/05/12 at 10.30 am
Tempat: Bilik mesyuarat jabatan mikrobiologi
sesiapa yang berminat dijemput hadir.

tq

Dr Zaidah Abdul Rahman
Clinical Microbiologist

Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology
School of Medical Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia
tel: 09-767 6249
email:drzaidah@kb.usm.my

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Prof Datin Dr Farida Jamal at ICOMMM2015,
held at UIA, Kuantan in Pahang, Malaysia