SPEECH BY DR WONG CHIANG YIN, MASTER, ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, SINGAPORE AT INDUCTION COMITIA 2024 HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH 57^TH SINGAPORE-MALAYSIA CONGRESS OF MEDICINE

20 July 2024, Saturday, 1800 at Grand Ballroom (L4),
Grand Copthorne Waterfront

Guest-of-Honour, Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Minister of State, Health & Ministry of Digital Development and Information;

Professor Kishore Mahbubani, the Academy’s 26th Gordon Arthur Ransome Orator;

Professor Dr Rosmawati Mohamed, Master, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, and President of the 57th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine;

Professor Gilberto Ka-kit Leung, President of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine;

Fellow Council Members;

Academicians;

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Good evening. On behalf of the Council, a warm welcome to the Academy of Medicine, Singapore’s 2024 Induction Comitia, 26th Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration, and 57th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine!

2. First, allow me to thank our Guest-of-Honour, Ms Rahayu Mahzam, for taking time off from her busy schedule to grace and witness this important annual event of the Academy.  

3. This evening, we are also grateful and privileged to have Professor Kishore Mahbubani deliver the 26th Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration.

4. I would also like to thank all guests and fellow academicians for joining this evening’s momentous event. Special appreciation to our overseas guests who have travelled from near and far. Many thanks to Professor Dr Rosmawati Mohamed and Professor Gilberto Ka-kit Leung and the Councils of of our 2 sister academies. Your presence is deeply appreciated and has again affirmed our joint commitment towards maintaining the highest standards of professional and ethical practice and collectively to bring our practice up to the next level.

5. Today marks an important milestone for new Fellows. Like you, I take great pride in your induction into the Fellowship of the Academy. This evening, we will witness the induction of 97 new Fellows also confer fellowship to 18 distinguished overseas members. Please join me in a round of applause for our new Fellows.

6. Today, we also witness the unveiling of the new Academy, Singapore regalia. The new regalia also signifies the Academy’s renewed energy, purpose and commitment towards the advancement of medicine. By wearing the regalia, you not only pledge your commitment to upholding the highest standards of clinical competence and ethical integrity in advancing healthcare excellence, but also to remain academic in your life-long medical learning journey, especially educating yourself as well as the next generation of healthcare professionals.

7. Let me also congratulate our graduates of Master of Science in Health Professions Education and Graduate Diploma in Hospital Practice. You should be proud of your achievement to have fulfilled the stringent requirements of the programmes. I wish you all the best in your career advancement.

8. The Academy will also present the Annals Gold and Silver Reviewers Awards to recipients who have made outstanding contributions to the Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore which is the Academy’s official journal and the leading medical journal in Singapore. Congratulations and thank you for the excellent work in furthering the exchange of scientific knowledge and information. I would like to encourage all Fellow Academicians to continue supporting the Annals by contributing as reviewers and/or submitting good scientific work and articles for publication.

9. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Associate Professor Tan Lay Kok, President of the College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Singapore, and his Organising Committee of the 57^th Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine, for curating such an excellent scientific programme, “Relooking Women’s Health”.  It covers and explores critical areas such as cardiology, cancer, mental health, healthy aging, genomics, and cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, transcending traditional boundaries and encouraging meaningful dialogue. Earlier this afternoon, we were privileged to hear from Professor Dame Lesley Regan, the United Kingdom’s first-ever Women’s Health Ambassador for England, and the congress’ Runme Shaw Memorial Lecturer, “Why do we need a Women’s Health Strategy today?”. I trust you have found the scientific exchanges of the past 2 days enlightening and stimulating, and I hope it will lead us to drive the betterment of healthcare and address the dynamic challengers of our evolving medical landscape.

10. Last but not least, the programme will culminate with this evening’s oration by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, “Can humanity rise up to face its next existential challenge?”.  Like you, I look forward to his Oration. He is a Master Orator who can achieve what few others can – which is to share his insights and communicate complex ideas with loquacious clarity and unvarnished intellectual honesty all at the same time.

11. He is Singapore’s renaissance man, whose ideas and formidable body of writings have been studied and discussed all over the world. His citation will be read by Dr Geh Min, herself a very respected ophthalmologist and eminent environmentalist in her own right.

12. The Gordon Arthur Ransome Oration remains the highlight of the Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine. Tonight’s Oration is the 26^th edition of the series. Past Orators include our country’s Founding Fathers and Deputy Prime Ministers, Goh Keng Swee and S Rajaratnam as well as our Chief Minister, before Singapore became an independent state, Mr David Marshall.

13. Recent Orators include our current President, Mr Tharman, when he was deputy prime minister and our current Chief Justice, Mr Sundaresh Menon.

14. Other prominent Orators include former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, who was also a student of Professor Ransome, as well as former Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, Ms Anson Chan and former Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow.

15. I have no doubt that tonight’s Oration, which is titled “Can Humanity Rise Up to Face Its Next Existential Challenge?” will be incisive, thought-provoking and at the same time, enjoyable,

16. But please indulge me as I say a few words about the man after whom this Oration is named – Sir Gordon Arthur Ransome, known as “Professor Ransome” to his students.

17. This Oration was delivered for the first time on the occasion of Professor Ransome’s retirement in 1971. The Orator was none other than his protégé and successor, Prof Seah Cheng Siang.

18. Sir Gordon was licensed to practice medicine in 1933, when he was 23 years old. He underwent training under many masters, including the famous Sir Robert Hutchinson, of the textbook, Hutchinson’s Clinical Methods’ fame as well as Sir Gordon Holmes, often cited as one of the founding fathers of clinical neurology, known for his work on cerebellar function and neuro-ophthalmology.

19. It is therefore no coincidence that while Sir Gordon Ransome was the complete and peerless master physician, he was best known for his clinical examination methods and that his first love was in the field of neurology.

20. He came to Singapore in 1938 on appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine, King Edward VII College of Medicine, the precursor to Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS, today. He stayed here from 1938 till 1971, save for a brief interlude in Burma during World War 2.

21. He was the first Master of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. According to Prof Seah in his Oration, and I quote “With considerable foresight and with keen interest on postgraduate medical education, Professor Ransome inaugurated a meeting of medical specialists in 1957, with a view to the formation of an academic body. After the constitution was passed, 34 members consisting of physicians, surgeons and others practicing in the specialties together formed the Academy of Physicians and Surgeons, which was the preceding body to the present Academy of Medicine, Singapore”. Unquote

22. Nowadays, we talk about summative assessments when we discuss specialty training. Summative assessments usually refer to how we assess our residents and trainees when they reach the end of their residency or training period. But in reality, it can be the other way around, how our students, trainees and subordinates assess us in their summative fashion.

23. Here is what Prof Seah said in his summative assessment of his mentor, “Professor Ransome can be regarded as the founder of modern medicine in this area, namely, Singapore and the territories of Malaysia. What has been achieved in his long 33 years here has not been without some personal sacrifice but the reward may well be the realization that he has created a generation of hundreds of well-trained doctors. We are immensely grateful. These doctors in turn are passing on teachings to yet many others. The cumulative effect in terms of service to the sick and the benefits derived therefrom bear testimony to his wisdom and his skill”.

24. 53 years after his retirement and 46 years after his death in 1978, we continue to gather to remember his contributions to Singapore and Malaysia medicine and to celebrate his legacy of service, selflessness and excellence in the form of this Oration.

25. May this evening and the remaining day of the Congress serve as a catalyst for forging new partnerships, sharing insights, and driving innovations that will shape the future of healthcare locally and regionally.

26. Thank you all, and I wish everyone an enjoyable evening and an inspiring Congress.