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LETTER TO EDITOR

SCHOOL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA –THE FIRST 25 YEARS IN POETRY

Professor Dr Nor Hayati Othman

School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

Code Number: mj04026

The 3^rd medical school it was destined to be Located in faraway land, far from a big city While the 2 senior schools are in the zone of neon lights This particular one is in the state of ‘wau-bule’kite

The name of the place is Kubang Kerian Unheard of by most till this School came around At the beginning it faced many obstacles The Penang buildings not ready nor KK land available

The early years began in the campus at Minden Where Minah Curry House was our favourite joint Nasi kandar, mee mamak, we have left them behind We go back to Minden every now and then

The pioneers were people with good foresight Their ideas and visions charted this School right The curriculum used was ‘too advanced’at that stage They went on with the job like people crazed

The first students were eager and enrolled as planned They were placed in small rooms that fit like thin cans The building was nothing but a shack of wooden hut In that building the pioneers worked themselves very hard

The students came with high aspirations They were blessed and honoured by the whole nation They did not mind the shabby condition As long as their teachers taught them Medicine

The early teachers were not that many Syed Mohsein, Ong Kok Hai, Rahman Isa and Saidi Jayakumar, Thevarasah, Yunus and Maheswaran Tawda Win, Ting Aw, Elango, and Prathap Chand

Rogayah, George Ling, Hamiadji and George Chaco Shanta, Rattan, Zulkifli and Koenjoro Ong Lean Swee, Toh Hock Tye, Chowdri and Gheeta Asma, Rabindar, Khairul Anwar and Mandira

These names are not in any order And there are many more I cannot remember Richard Lobo, Sabariah, Peter Simmons and Kamaruzzaman These are few more that came to my mind.

PK Das, Fernando, Jamal and Musalmah Khin U May, Darah, Nurul Azman and Normah Ismail, Wan Arifin, Zainol and Nazim Salleh Many of these have left this place

If I have left out names, please forgive me They were so long ago, no records to see To those who have left us, we say ‘thank you’ To the few that remains, we say ‘cheers to you’.

There is this man, the father of us all, He was fortunate to receive the Call When he started the School from scratch No one believed what he could achieve

He moved bricks, he surveyed the land Picked one place and started the plan He worked fast and gathered more staff Every one worked but people weren’t enough

He ruled the School in the manner he thought best Despite getting some other requests; His strategy worked and the blocks were completed Within the time frame that was required.

To Roslani Sir, the poem is for you We are grateful for the things you do We may disagree on a few matters The bottom line is, PPSP is the focus.

There are people in the know, there are people that are prized These are the people whom, we want to tap what they profess; Their wisdom is sought, their ideas are cherished To the think-tankers of the School, you have always given your best.

They were Roslani, Mustafa, Mafauzy and Zabidi These 4 deans held the helm for a quarter of century They charted and they planned and they reviewed the curriculum For every one of them the School’s milestones get affirmed

They were not alone to chart the growth The deputies were there in every move Saidi, Kamaruzzaman, Rahman, Wahab and Asma Mazidah, Wan Mohammad, Rashid, and Zalina.

Aziz, Rusli and Nor Hayati Othman Are the deputies who are currently at helm With phase coordinators and various chairmen They ensure programs are smoothly run

Kamarazuman and Ramli are the hospital directors They run the hospital for the last 20 years Ghani, Hashim, Wan Nik and later Ruslan Mohd Rahman, Zaidun assist the hospital administration

Other lecturers are the think –tankers too For without them, there is no one to turn to Some of them old, some of them new Giving out their best like everyone else too.

We value the words expressed by all Regardless of when and who gives the call Every comment is taken, every complaint is acted upon That is how the wisdom is shown

Brick by brick; Block by block Many came and many click To Kubang Kerian people flock.

HUSM was once the tallest building in KB Next to it is are blocks of PPSP It is not complete without the medical library And later enhanced by the school of dentistry

Keep walking and you will see more Like PPSK, INFORMM and Dewan Utama There is a golf course and many sports fields Where staff and students sweat out or do drills.

The Health Campus is not what it used to be There are now many more cars and much more busy If you are not lucky, you get caught in traffic jam Within the campus itself, as if there is a passing tram!

With many facts and theories we are faced The best kind of learning is problem-based It may be ‘confusing’to most at first The advantages exceed the headaches & ‘curse’.

This approach is easier and much more real Each discipline being like the spokes of the wheel Working outwards we learn all the necessary skills Like anatomy, pharmacology and giving out pills.

This teaching method should always get the vote Over learning exhaustive details by rote For beyond the memorizing of so many a fact The useful person is one who can act.

We have been doing PBL for years And happy about it and so are the others Many come over to learn our trait We gladly show them how we do it.

Standing tall in gleaming white coats Holding flasks, pipettes or stethoscopes Mixing blood, serum or just body secretions Scientists discover and uncover inventions.

Staying-up late to see experimental curves On herbal, cancer and cardiovascular research Telehealth, reconstructive and sciences on nerves Not forgetting genomic, sports and health policies research.

We conduct many clinical trials Together with colleagues from all over the world On diabetes, psychosis, high BP and pressure sores MAKNA and, MOSTI are some of the sponsors

We house many awards recipients I-TEX, MOSTI and Toray Foundation Geneva, Nuremburg are venues of competition Medals and trophies bring cheers to some

Gather lots of people in one hall Then call a VIP or royalty to officiate the call He cuts ribbons, he grazes the wall Amidst the cheers he stands tall.

We do a lot of these in PPSP We sign MOUs and we sign treaties Linkages are established with other universities Students and staff benefit from these.

University of Kobe and University of Ghent Are some of the many universities that we have signed Be they in Cuba, in Canada or in Japan We link with them for all kinds of collaboration.

USMUS, JICA, JCMT and JSPS WHO, UNESCO, ECFMG and Commonwealth These are some of the sponsors of the linkages We are thankful to them for their selflessness

We put on our socks and we go out to play With friends and foes we sweat and sway We scream, we yell and we hop around We worry less ‘bout people around

That is not a lot that is not enough At night we sing at parties and such Then we take the stage we express our voice We definitely lack talents but no one cares!

We are passionate in things we do We are serious people and yet fun too We parade and we march for all to see Like those men in Malaysian army

Recreation is a form of treatment To the aching bodies and unresting mind It is good for body and is great for soul Come and join us lets rock and roll!

Professors, APs and lecturers Are the thinkers and the pillars They have responsibility on their shoulders To run workshops and conduct seminars

Support staff provides all the arrangement They carry the jobs, without much complaint Weeks in weeks out, workshops are run Students and staff, they all have fun

We once used overhead projectors Using transparencies and colourful markers Then we were taught to use the computers Since that day, we improved our lectures

Everything now is in digital forms If you are not in it you do not conform Students are taught the creative way That’s the way forward till the end of day

When you are 25 years old You have achieved so many goals You are a pioneer of this and a pioneer of that However, we say them softly, we do not want to brag

We do not stop here, there is more we need to do Give us time we will prove it to you PPSP is a force, it’s to be reckon with The other medical schools, they’re green with envieth.

We face challenges, and we face them squarely At times these challenges bring disharmony For 25 years now, we continue to stand Challenges, disharmony are part of the game.

For those in USM and those outside Let us tell you what is on our side This School will grow and grow forever To be the top medical school all over.

Finally, this is my last poem I have penned these in one good moment I hope you enjoy them as much as I do I have no proper training, these are impromptu