Dr Yen Teck Hoe – 16th March 2008

Dear Colleagues, 

‘Selamat Sejahtera’ and greeting from the new committee of the MPA for the term 2008/2010. It has been a great 8 year serving the MPA. When I was the treasurer in 2003, Prof. Hussain encouraged us to be a million -ringgit Association. As your new president I’m glad to announce that we have hit the million-ringgit mark in our account. 

Our plan to own a permanent place for our Association is getting closer. Unfortunately, there are other things that have to be put in place before we can purchase the property. There is previously no provision in our constitution allowing the purchase of property by the Association. I would like to thank the members for giving their valuable views, opinion and support in the last BGM and unanimously passed the proposed amendments permitting us to do so in time to come. The committees and I will try to get the proposed amended constitutions approved by the registrar of society as soon as practicable. 

The second hurdle is to get a public accountant to help us set-up proper accounting procedures before we can use the money to buy our own office. The committee shall strive our best effort to upgrade our Association to a professional association of the best international standard. We will continue with the good work that has been started by the former committee, and build on the strong foundation laid earlier. At the same time we will start new activities and we would like to invite members to participate together to promote awareness of the Association and to contribute to our society. There remains a lot of myths and misconceptions about mental illness and awareness is one of the ways to enlighten our society. It’s our duty to be an advocate in issues related to mental health. 

In 2005 we experienced our first natural disaster, tsunami. On the 8th of March 2008, we experienced another kind of shock, the political tsunami. I pray that our beloved nation will remain stable and peaceful. As Martin Luther King Jr said, the time is always right to do what is right. We in the medical and mental health professions should uphold the noble ethics to do what is right. I would like to thank our immediate past president, Professor Hussain Habil for his great and valuable contribution to the Association. The new committees hope to see all members playing a more active role in the Association, and work together for our profession. 

 

Thank you. 

Dr. Yen Teck Hoe 

President of MPA 2008-2010