The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Commemorative Symposium

There are about four weeks to go before the start of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh commemorative symposium in Penang. 

Although this three-day event should interest medical doctors (there will be a one-day international symposium, organised by the Penang Medical College, on Global Health Challenges: Infectious Diseases in the New Millennium, the activities on the other days should be of common interest to anyone who admires the work done by this Penang doctor at a time when plague was such a worldwide health scourge. 

As I have already written a lot about Dr Wu Lien-Teh in my blog, I won't be repeating his achievements here except to point you to this link.  But about the symposium itself, here is some of the information extracted from the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society homepage:

THE DR WU LIEN-TEH COMMEMORATIVE SYMPOSIUM

George Town, Penang, Malaysia

Saturday 8th March 2014 to Monday 10th March 2014

Persatuan Dr Wu Lien-Teh, Pulau Pinang

The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang

槟城伍连德学会

(Registration No: NSID 032-27122012)

For more information, write to:

Secretary-General, The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang

Email: wulientehsociety@gmail.com

Http://wulientehsociety.org

Click here to download the Symposium_Participation_form 

Tentative Programme

Saturday (8th March)
Guest Arrivals
7.00pm: Welcoming Dinner by The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society and Dr Wu Lien-Teh family reunion

Sunday (9th March)
9.00am to 1.00pm: Tour-The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Historic Trail
2:00 pm: Unveiling of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh bronze bust and memorial
3.30pm to 5.00pm: The Inaugural Dr Wu Lien-Teh Lecture by Professor Dr Anthony Capon, Director of the Institute of Global Health, United Nations University (UNU-IIGH), Malaysia
7.30pm: Official State Government of Penang Dinner (by invitation)

Monday (10th March)
8.30am to 2.00pm: International Symposium on Global Health Challenges-Infectious Diseases in the New Millennium. (Penang Medical College)

Speakers include the following:

• Professor Richard Loh Li-Cher, Penang Medical College
• Professor Ooi Eng Eong, Deputy Director, Emerging Infectious Deceases Programme, Duke-National University of Singapore, Graduate School/Medical School, Singapore
• Dr Stan Fenwick, RESPOND, USAID Project, Bangkok, Thailand
• Dr Alex Ooi, Hon Secretary of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society

Arrival of guests and registration     8.30am – 9.00am
Welcome address by President of PMC     9.00am – 9.15am
Opening speech and officiating of the inaugural WLT symposium by the representative of the Minister of Health     9.15am – 9.30am
Dr Alex KH Ooi – The Legacy of WLT     9.30am – 9.45am
Tea break     9.45am – 10.15am
Prof Stan Fenwick – a Short History of Animal-Associated Epidemics Zoonoses and human disease 10.15am – 11.30am
Prof Richard Loh – Tuberculosis- Still a scourge of mankind     11.30am – 12.15pm
Professor Ooi Eng Eong - Dengue prevention and the elusive sustainable solution     12.15pm – 1.00pm
Close of symposium     1.00pm - 1.10pm
Lunch     1.10pm – 2.00pm

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. PLEASE CONTACT THE FOLLOWING:

FOR OVERALL EVENT

• Mr Foo Yu Keong, Penang Global Tourism (Phone:  +6012-455 0074  Fax: +604-264 3455 Email: yukeong@penangglobaltourism.com)
• Mr Clement Liang, Penang Heritage Trust (Phone: +6016-417 5258/ +604-264 2631  Fax: +604-262 8421 Email: clement@pht.org.my)

FOR INAUGURAL LECTURE

• Ms Ong Siou Wuon, Penang Institute (Phone: +6012-733 4845/ +604-228 3306  Fax: +604-226 7042 Email: siouwoon.ong@penanginstitute.org)

FOR MONDAY 10th MARCH SYMPOSIUM

• Prof Dr Rashid Khim, Head of Department of Public Health, Penang Medical College (Phone:  +604-226 3459  Fax: +604-228 4285 Email: rashid@gmc.edu.my)

FOR GENERAL SOCIETY MATTERS

• Dato’ Anwar Fazal, President, The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society (Phone:  +604-229 0497  Fax: +604-657 2655 Email: anwar.fazal@yahoo.com)
• Dr Alex Ooi, Secretary General, The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society (Phone: +65-96285011/ +65-67388331  Fax: +65-67348896 Email: dralexooi@gmail.com)

REGISTRATION
Please scan and send your completed application form and banking slip and to wulientehsociety@gmail.com. The closing date for registration is 28 February 2014

REGISTRATION FEES
A registration fee is payable as below and it will cover the Heritage Tour, the Welcome Dinner, Inaugural Lecture, Bust Unveiling Ceremony and International Symposium (including lunch).

• International participants: RM250 (including meals and transfers between venues but no airport transfers)
• Penang participants: RM150

All payments should be made as follows:

• Enclose a cheque/cash/electronic receipt made to “The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang”
• Those who wish to pay electronically can pay to CIMB Bank A/C No: 0715-0006509-058. Swiftcode: CIBBMYKL (for overseas banking transfer)
• Please send postal payments to the following address: Secretary-General, The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society Penang, c/o Penang Heritage Trust, 26 Lebuh Gereja, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS

• The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang  (wulientehsociety.org)
• Penang Institute (penanginstitute.org)
• Penang Medical College (www.pmc.edu.my)
• Institute of International Global Health, United Nations University (iigh.unu.edu)
• Penang Heritage Trust (www.pht.org.my)
• Penang Global Tourism (www.mypenang.gov.my)
• Think City (www.thinkcity.com.my)

Please email wulientehsociety@gmail.com to obtain further information on participation.

The Wu Lien-Teh bust

About 10 days ago, I had made a post in The Old Frees' Association facebook group asking people to guess where this bust of Dr Wu Lien-Teh was located. There were several replies but only two guessed the location correctly.

The Wu Lien-Teh bust stands prominent today in the grounds of the Penang Institute in Brown Road, Penang. Anyone driving into the premises of the Penang Institute should not fail to notice the bust since it stands tall near the entrance, although many will fail to recognise who it is supposed to resemble. But yes, that's a fine representation of Wu Lien-Teh himself, the plague fighter that fought and eradicated the disease in China in the 1910s.

In late 2011 when I was co-editing Fidelis, the commemorative book of The Old Frees' Association, it had come to my knowledge that there was a bust of Wu Lien-Teh outside the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Memorial Museum in Harbin, China.

Knowing that Wu Lien-Teh was the famous plague fighter was one thing but to learn that the man was still revered in China almost a century after the eradication of the disease was startling.

And Wu Lien-Teh wasn't even a Chinese Chinese although at that time the overseas Chinese still showed a strong allegiance to their fore-father's motherland; he was a Chinese Malayan (or a Chinese Malaysian, to be more politically correct) -- born in Penang, studied in Penang, had his further studies in England, returned to work in Penang, then worked in China, came back to work in Ipoh, retired to Penang, died in Penang and cremated in Penang. A true son of the Malaysian soil.

In April 2011, I began writing stories about Wu Lien-Teh in my blog. Like many of my other writings, the stories on Wu Lien-Teh weren't meant to be anything more than to fill my space with my opinions of things. One year later in May 2012, I was a bit surprised to learn that Think City was organising a Penang Story talk on Wu Lien-Teh, the main presenter being a lady from Singapore's Media Corp which had produced a documentary on Wu Lien-Teh's life some four years earlier. Among the audience were three gentlemen representing the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in China. After the talk, Think City's Anwar Fazal suggested that a bust or statue could be made of Dr Wu and placed at a prominent location in Penang, which Dr Ye Tian of the First Affiliated Hospital readily replied that China stood ready to donate a bronze bust anytime. By October that year, the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society had been formed in Penang. In January 2013 the bust - sculptured by Dong Doudou - was unveiled to a group of visitors from Penang and Singapore.

However, it was not until March 2014 that the bust was transported from China and erected on a pedestal near the front gate of the Penang Medical Centre in Sepoy Lines. In the early days of the Wu Lien-Teh Society, the Penang Medical Centre had played a pivotal role in the club's activities, notably in assisting to organise the first Wu Lien-Teh Symposium. But with a change in the medical centre's management, their focus drifted away. Together with their loss in interest in the society's activities, the bust was relocated to near the back entrance of the medical college, looking over the Polo Ground.

For much of 2015 and the first half of 2016, the Society laboured to find a new home for the Wu Lien-Teh bust. Various alternatives were sought, including moving the bust to the Armenian Park at the corner of Acheen Street and Armenian Street, but eventually, it was settled on the Penang Institute grounds after it was offered by the Penang Government. The relocation exercise was completed in June 2016.

Name exploitation

As a committee member of The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society in Penang, I want to say something about a recent development. Late last month, we hosted a group from Beijing consisting of publishers, supporters and researchers interested in the life and accomplishments of our local doctor, Dr Wu Lien-Teh. Through our interactions with them, we learnt that various individuals in China had been exploiting Wu Lien-Teh's name, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic. This exploitation has become increasingly problematic in recent years.

We couldn't help but wonder: how exactly was Wu Lien-Teh's name exploited? Well, it turned out his name and likeness were unlawfully used to establish companies and foundations, and even to bestow awards in his honour. Not only that, but trademarks were also registered, profits pocketed, funds raised through illegal means, and yes, fraud was committed. So, a group of individuals in Beijing took it upon themselves to safeguard Wu Lien-Teh's rights and legacy in China. 

(Now, why this specific group? Frankly, we're not entirely sure. Or at least, it's me alone who felt blurry as their conversations with us - our Society's main office-bearers - were all in Mandarin, and my poor understanding was based primarily on what they told me and what I could grasp. Anyhow, the only apparent link they have to Wu Lien-Teh was that a senior member of their clique claimed some distant kinship to the Wu Lien-Teh lineage. Furthermore, he had authored a recent biography on Wu Lien-Teh, published in China. But his appointment as the sole defender of Wu Lien-Teh's rights in China is lost on me. There are questions I'd rather not ask. And let's set the record straight: he's definitely not a grandson of Wu Lien-Teh, despite The Star newspaper's story. Makes you wonder if the reporter got their wires crossed, doesn't it?)

"We are committed to taking action against these dishonest groups to preserve (Wu Lien-Teh's) esteemed reputation," according to a brochure in my hands. Allegedly, these unethical entities enjoyed the protection of influential local factions in China, prompting the Beijing group to enlist the aid of legal and patent experts. Additionally, they garnered support from members of the National People's Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference, resulting, they claimed, in some advancements in their efforts.

So alright, let's talk about Wu Lien-Teh now. The man's dead; he died more than 60 years ago in the land of his birth, where his story began and ended. Despite the flow of time, he remains a pretty big deal in China. Even though he hailed from Penang, he headed to China in 1907 at the request of the Manchu imperial government. Once there, he soon got caught up in a massive plague that ended up taking the lives of around 60,000 people in Harbin. He stuck around in China for three decades, during which he brought modern medical practices to the country and played a key role in establishing several hospitals across the land.

Now, China might want to claim Wu Lien-Teh as one of their own, but there's no denying that he was, first and foremost, an Anak Pulau Pinang or a Son of Penang through and through, not China's. I mean, why else would he have returned to Penang in 1937? Why not tough it out through the Sino-Japanese War? Well, for starters, he lost his home in Shanghai to enemy bombing. And besides, he figured the safest place for his family was back home in Penang.

But there's a point of agreement with the Chinese visitors. There is still much to learn about Wu Lien-Teh of his time in Malaya post-1937. What we do know comes from his autobiography, Plague Fighter. However, autobiographies and memoirs are only as good as what the author tells us. Beyond that, a lot of independent investigations will be needed. As time goes on, this becomes increasingly more difficult. As such, we may never get to learn the full story of this local doctor who got onto the world stage.

Wu Lien Teh

This dedication had been long in coming. I had planned to write it quite a while ago but somehow, had been putting it off for various reasons. Today's the day that I get to tackle this topic. Finally.

Ask any Old Free or a current student of the Penang Free School and he will not hesitate to tell you that he is very familiar with the name of Wu Lien Teh. We either belonged or did not belong to the Wu Lien Teh House. I wasn't in Wu Lien Teh House; I was with Hargreaves House. But Wu Lien Teh House was our competitor on the sports field, so we couldn't ignore this name even if we wanted to.

But who was Wu Lien Teh that was so honoured with a House name in Penang Free School? Hargreaves, Pinhorn, Cheeseman and Hamilton, I can understand. At one time or another, they were either illustrious teachers or headmasters of the school. I can also understand naming Tunku Putra House after our first Prime Minister, Tengku Abdul Rahman.

But Wu Lien Teh House? Nope, it was never explained to me in school and I had to find out the hard way: through my own investigations. If you cannot wait to read this dedication till the end, you can take a short detour to the ultimate wikipedia guide on Wu Lien Teh here.

On the world stage, Wu Lien Teh (born 1879) is a revered figure in China. In the winter of 1910, the Peking Foreign Office summoned him to go investigate an unknown epidemic which was killing 99.9 per cent of its victims. This turned out to be the beginning of the large pneumonic plague that swept through Manchuria and Mongolia, and which ultimately claimed 60,000 lives. Within a short period of four months, he identified the source of the disease and ordered the cremation of the victims. This was the turning point of the epidemic. The suppression of this plague changed the face of modern medicine in China.
 
A lesser known aspect of Wu Lien Teh was that he was from Penang. He came from a very big family and had his education at the Penang Free School. He won the Queen's Scholarship in 1896 and studied medicine at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, registered as Ngoh Lean Tuck.

In 1903, he returned to Penang and went into private practice. He was very involved in social issues and founded the Anti-Opium Association in Penang. As a result, he found himself facing off against the powerful shady forces that controlled the very lucrative trade in opium. Inevitably, the dark forces found a way to fix him up. In 1907, a mere one ounce of tincture opium discovered in Wu's dispensary was declared illegal and it led to a trial that attracted worldwide publicity. But he was also noticed by the Chinese Government in Peking which offered him the post of Vice-Director of the Imperial Army Medical College in Tientsin one year later.

In 1937, with the Japanese occupying much of China and the Nationalists in retreat, Wu moved back to Malaya where he adjusted to a life of relative obscurity and worked as a General Practitioner in Ipoh. But he never did escape the Japanese in the end because as we know, Malaya was occupied by them in 1942. How Wu had survived the ordeal, I don't know. Nevertheless, in a letter Wu wrote on 4 Oct 1945 to some friends at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in the United States, he said: "We have all gone through terrible times during the past four years. Some have lost brothers and sisters, others fathers, others again have themselves suffered injuries and personal losses."

I've heard that in Ipoh, he gave free medical treatment to those who were too poor to pay. He spent much of his time over his collection of 2,000-plus volumes of books on Chinese, European and Indian art, philosophy, science, history and culture, which were later donated to the Nanyang University (later known as the University of Singapore) in 1957. He practised medicine right up to the age of 80 and then decided to move back to Penang for his retirement. He suffered from a stroke and died two days later on 21 Jan 1960, at the age of 81 years, merely a week after moving into his new home in Chor Sin Kheng Road.

So there we have it, a nutshell recollection of a most remarkable man who was lauded around the world for his medical achievements. But except for the House named after him at the Penang Free School, Plague Fighter Extraordinaire Dr Wu Lien Teh (or Dr Ngoh Lean Tuck) remains little recognised in the state where he was born. There's supposed to be a Taman Wu Lien Teh somewhere but I cannot recall where it is. A very pity indeed. Interestingly, Perak has also honoured him with a Jalan Wu Lien Teh in the suburb of Ipoh Garden South in Ipoh.

As a postscript note, the Singapore-China Friendship Association is organizing a talk on Wu Lien Teh at the Sales Gallery of Eastern & Oriental Berhad in Beach Road, Singapore on 14 Apr 2011. I hear that next year in China, there'll be a big international gathering in Harbin to commemorate him on 13-15 Jan 2012. Already, there exists a Wu Liande Memorial Hospital and an associated Wu Liande Museum in Harbin. But little nothing in the country of his birth. Shameful.

A missing story

In November last year, I was invited to write a very short article about Dr Wu Lien-Teh for the MINDS digital newsletter. The guidelines I was required to follow were to have: a brief background of him, his school days in Penang Free School, his work and success in China during the plague, his profound idea on Mask, and the Wu Lien Teh house and any other important exhibits of his.

Well, the newsletter has just been released but the Wu Lien-Teh story is missing. Edged out by other stories. I'm not questioning the decision of the newsletter editorial board but apparently, Dr Wu Lien-Teh is still not important enough in the minds of many informed Malaysians. It's a pity but it shows there's more that needs to be done.

Since it wasn't used, I might as well reproduce it here even if it serves nothing more than to record my contribution. But what's important is that it serves to summarise all of Wu Lien-Teh's life into approximately 600 words.

Remembering Dr Wu Lien-Teh

More than 60 years have passed since the death of Dr Wu Lien-Teh (伍连德) in Penang on 21 January 1960. There is little doubt that Wu Lien-Teh was a Malaysian hero but to me, he towered above all other Malaysians. 

At the height of his remarkable career, he travelled widely to give lectures to medical specialists and researchers. He chaired an international medical conference attended by eminent scientists who came from the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany and the rest of Europe to learn from him. 

As the first president of the China Medical Association (1916-1920), he is recognised as the man who modernised the practice of medicine in China. Such was his world-wide stature that in 1935, he became the first person from the Straits Settlements and British Malaya to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Wu Lien-Teh would not have been so respected if he had not travelled to the Chinese port of Harbin in 1910 to investigate an unknown disease that was killing all its victims. He proved that the carcass of the tarabagan, a rodent renowned for its fur, was responsible for spreading the pneumonic plague. Ultimately, this pandemic claimed some 60,000 lives in China before he brought it under control.

Along the way, he developed a prototype gauze and cotton surgical mask which he insisted his staff wear as protection. This bulky mask is acknowledged to have evolved into today’s N95 mask and it continues to safeguard millions of lives around the world.

Despite his fame and busy schedule, Wu Lien-Teh never forgot his humble roots. During his travels, he usually stopped in Penang and included visits to his alma mater, Penang Free School, where he was School Captain in 1894. 

Winning the coveted Queen’s Scholarship enabled him to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. As a qualified medical practitioner, he opened a dispensary in Penang for a few years before accepting a position in China. After he returned from there in 1939, he chose Ipoh to resume work as a medical doctor. Finally retiring in 1960, he died in Penang at the age of 80.

The good doctor is remembered through two roads named after him in Penang and one in Ipoh. There is also a bust of Wu Lien-Teh in the grounds of the Penang Institute in George Town, which is a present from the Harbin Medical University. 

Since 1928, Penang Free School has had a sports house named after him. In 2012, The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society was established in Penang to celebrate the life of the man who fought the Manchurian plague, modernised medicine in China and set the standard for generations of doctors to follow. 

Wu Lien-Teh birthday anniversary activities

On the tenth of March every year, the Dr Wu Lien Teh Society would organise some activity or function to mark the anniversary of this renown gentleman's birthday. For 2021, the 142nd anniversary of his birth, we decided a few weeks ago to have a tea gathering on the grounds of the Penang Institute where there is a bust of Wu Lien-Teh. 

We were planning a soft launch of the second reprint of his auto-biography, Plague Fighter, which is now out-of-stock in the bookshops. In the first reprint several years ago, 1,000 copies were printed but we had not anticipated the immense interest shown in this book. Obviously, the Covid-19 pandemic had added to the demand because of the N95 face mask. There were also plans to video-tape the committee members reading short excerpts from this book which would then be uploaded to the website. My contribution was to read from a newspaper report on his death in 1960.

Then on Tuesday, the Society's president, Anwar Fazal, informed us that Salma Khoo would be offering us a herbal plant to remember Wu Lien-Teh's work on traditional medicine. This would be planted near the bust at Penang Institute. With these going on, these were already quite a lot of activities lined up for the gathering.

We awoke on the 10th morning to a lot of excitement. People who had logged into the Google homepage were intrigued to see a doodle of Wu Lien-Teh on the Google search page. Google's explanation of this doodle: 

Today's Doodle celebrates the 142nd birthday of Chinese-Malaysian epidemiologist Dr Wu Lien-teh, who invented a surgical face covering that is widely considered the precursor to the N95 mask.

Born into a family of Chinese immigrants in Penang, Malaya (modern-day Malaysia) on this day in 1879, Wu went on to become the first student of Chinese descent to earn his MD from Cambridge University. Following his doctoral studies, he accepted a position as the vice director for China's Imperial Army Medical College in 1908. When an unknown epidemic afflicted north-western China in 1910, the Chinese government appointed Wu to investigate the disease, which he identified as the highly contagious pneumonic plague that spread from human to human through respiratory transmission. 

To combat the disease, Wu designed and produced a special surgical mask with cotton and gauze, adding several layers of cloth to filter inhalations. He advised people to wear his newly invented mask and worked with government officials to establish quarantine stations and hospitals, restrict travel, and apply progressive sterilization techniques; his leadership contributed greatly to the end of the pandemic (known as the Manchurian plague) by April 1911—within four months of being tasked with controlling its spread.

In 1915, Wu founded the Chinese Medical Association, the country’s largest and oldest non-governmental medical organization. In 1935, he was the first Malaysian—and the first person of Chinese descent–nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work to control the pneumonic plague. A devoted advocate and practitioner of medical advancement, Wu’s efforts not only changed public health in China but that of the entire world. 

Happy birthday to the man behind the mask, Dr. Wu Lien-teh! 

By mid-morning, the doodle had created a lot of buzz in the country. Suddenly, people wanted to know more about Wu Lien-Teh. We were getting a bit flustered by the attention created by this doodle, not that we minded. But something else was happening in Penang that we were unaware of. 

According to the grapevine, several news media began contacting the Chief Minister's Office to ask what the state government was doing to commemorate Wu Lien-Teh's birthday. I heard that the Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow, was caught by surprise. He had little idea of the significance of this date and was unprepared for it. In a half-panic, his Office contacted the Penang Institute to find out more and was told, "We have the solution. Please come to the tea gathering at the Penang Institute this afternoon at 4.30pm to find out more. And that was why when my wife and I turned up at the Penang Institute at about 4.45pm yesterday, we were bemused to see the Chief Minister there together with lots of media people covering the event.

Among them was a television crew from Astro Awani. Meanwhile, the Astro AEC channel also wanted to conduct an interview with the Society through Zoom. So suddenly, they had a stroke of luck as the Chief Minister himself could be interviewed on the very same topic of Wu Lien-Teh and at the same time, witness him doing the soft launch for the book's reprint. 

I shall now take the liberty to share a summary report by the Secretary-General of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Dr Hor Chee Peng, regarding the activities held yesterday at the Penang Institute.

Today marks a special day for us to celebrate the iconic legend, Dr Wu Lien-Teh, the internationally acclaimed plague fighter in China and a visionary public health physician standing up for social justice and community development. His life story and heroic achievements have remained as an inspiration and set the standard for generations of doctors to come.

It has been more than a year since the Covid-19 outbreak started in Wuhan and became the pandemic affecting every one of us in unprecedented scale. Dr Wu left a legacy in his initiative approach in containing the plague epidemic from strict isolation policy, movement control practices and orders, disinfection, and the historic mass cremation in the history of China, through his tough fights with authority for the community. 

We are celebrating his birthday, reflecting from his life journey and learning from his legacy, not only as a visionary, courageous public health physician, but a highly intellectual and wise person which has much to offer to the society ranging from anti-racism, anti-opium to advocating primary education for girls back then.

There were series of activities the Society has conducted today:

(a) A small tea party at the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Garden in Penang Institute with his bust donated from University of Harbin, China. A few of us were present physically, of course, all masked up with good physical distancing. We were honoured with a surprise visit from our honourable Chief Minister of Penang, Mr Chow Kon Yeow. His presence acknowledged the recognition of the Penang State Government for Dr Wu's extraordinary contributions to the world and his legacy. Besides, we also had Ms Alison Chong, Vice-President of the Society and Great Grandniece of Dr Wu, joining us virtually from Singapore to celebrate this special day.

(b) Planting a herbal plant (Senna alata, or known as the ringworms shrub) in the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Garden to commemorate his passion and works for the traditional and complementary medicine. Dr Wu Lien-Teh co-authored the History of Chinese Medicine with Dr Chimin Wong. The plant was donated by Mdm Salma Khoo, one of the founders of the Society, and our beloved President, Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Anwar Fazal. We planted it with love and look forwards to seeing it being nurtured to blossom in years to come! 

(c) Soft launching of the second reprinting of Dr Wu’s autobiography, Plague Fighter: The Autobiography of a Modern Chinese Physician in 2021 conjunction with his 142nd birthday anniversary in midst of a global fight for the Covid-19 pandemic. The current copy is out of stock. A thousand copies of reprint is in progress!

(d) Launching the book reading session from the autobiography to share the stories and reflections from Dr Wu's life journey. There were several book reading sessions of variable lengths recorded by various committee members of the Society and they will be uploaded from time to time!

Last but not least, the blast of the day was Dr Wu being featured in Google Doodle! Many of our friends and colleagues texted us with words of motivation and filled with joy! It was great to learn that the great-grand-daughters of Dr Wu, namely Dr Shan Woo- Liu and Dr Ling Woo-Liu, worked in partnership with Google for this project. Dr Shan Woo-Liu is also our life member of the Society and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine from Harvard Medical School.

In a single day, Dr Wu received such an enormous attention throughout the world from various media platform locally and internationally - such a long overdue recognition!

These were the activities for today. Stay tuned for more! Do follow our facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/wulientehpg , and website, www.wulientehsociety.org , for more updates!

Finally, here is a link to a video which had been uploaded by Astro AEC to their youtube channel. It's in Mandarin but the message should be clear to everybody watching.

 

Where it all started for the Wus

The Dr Wu Lien-Teh commemorative symposium starts this week and last night, there was a welcome dinner at the City Bayview Hotel for the participants of the symposium.

The biggest surprise was the homecoming of the Wu clan. I would estimate that of the 100-plus people at the dinner, about 85 percent of them were the descents of their patriarch, Ng Khee Hock. Dr Wu Lien-Teh was the eighth of 11 siblings.

From what I understand, this was the first time that the Wu clan had descended in such numbers for a family reunion and meeting with relatives that they didn't even know existed. And they came from the far corners of the world such as San Francisco, Belfast, Perth and Sydney. Nearer to home, some of them came from nearby Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, Ipoh and of course, Penang.

As a committee member of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, I was privileged to have witnessed this gathering at the welcome dinner which also saw the official launch of the reprint of Dr Wu Lien-Teh's own auto-biography, Plague Fighter, by Areca Books. I've no idea yet how much it will cost when it hits the bookstands.

The book last saw print in 1959, the year before Wu Lien-Teh's death in his house in Chor Si Kheng Road, Ayer Itam, Penang. Maybe, there was only a single edition then as I doubt that it had a wide circulation. I'm one of a very few people that still owned a copy of that first edition, but nevertheless, I am still glad that there is now a reprint of this book. With careful promotion, I hope that many more of the present generation of Malaysians will get to know how great this man was.

Welcome speech by Anwar Fazal, the president of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society

What's that behind the red cloth?

Plague Fighter, Dr Wu Lien-Teh's biography. The people behind the launch of the book were: David Yeoh (representing Star Publications which sponsored the re-printing of this book), Dr Alex Ooi (secretary-general of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society), Khoo Salma (chairman of Penang Heritage Trust and the woman behind Areca Books), Dr John Wu (Dr Wu Lien-Teh's last surviving son) and Anwar Fazal (president of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society)

Of course, how could William and I not miss the chance to show Dr John Wu that section of Fidelis, the commemorative book of The Old Frees' Association, that featured his illustrious father?

Penang Story lecture on Dr Wu Lien-Teh

By my estimate, there must have been anything between 200 and 300 people at the auditorium of the Wawasan Open University in George Town on Saturday at the Penang Story Committee-organised talk on Dr Wu Lien-Teh.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was at hand to open the occasion. That he was present means that at long last, it is quite possible that our Penang-born Dr Wu Lien-Teh, truly a most illustrious yet unsung hero of Malaysia, may still get his due recognition from at least our Penang government.

There are so many different ways that we can honour this man, including a suggestion that either the Penang Free School Foundation or The Old Frees' Association could start a monetary award every year to the best graduate from the Penang Medical College (PMC). But I think the most meaningful way to remember him immediately is to rename the PMC as the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Penang Medical College.

At an informal lunch on Sunday, the topic of recognition was again raised and it was suggested by Anwar Fazal, the chairman of Think City Sdn Bhd, that a bust or statue could be made of Dr Wu and placed at a prominent location in Penang.

Dr Ye Tian of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University indicated that there was no problem of the Chinese authorities donating a bronze statue of Dr Wu Lien-Teh to Penang. They were ever ready to do that anytime.

However there was a revelation that about four years ago when a documentary on Dr Wu's life was being prepared by Singapore's Media Corp, the former headmaster of the Penang Free School had turned down the opportunity to have the statue erected in the school's premises. I have my own thoughts why he refused the commemoration but I shall leave it to others to form their own opinions.

People may say that the school itself had already honoured Dr Wu in the past by naming a sport house as Wu Lien-Teh House. However, this was done so very long ago. Senior members at The Old Frees' Association told me that when they studied at the Penang Free School in the 1950s, there was already a Wu Lien-Teh House. So the school's recognition was made at a time when he was still alive.

There's also a short private road in a housing area opposite the school that is called Taman Wu Lien Teh. Some old houses lined one side of the road while on the other side was the compound of the Penang state mosque. However, there is nothing exclusive or glamourous about being known as a "private" road. The condition of the road turned out to be rather dilapidated. What a disappointment. And I even doubt whether at all many people are aware of its existence.

In Ipoh where Dr Wu had resumed his private medical practice after returning from China in 1937, there is also a road in a residential area that was named after him.

So let me say that it is time that we give another round of recognition to Dr Wu Lien-Teh for his immense contribution to world health. He was a Penang-born who saved the world. He had the world at his feet but then he chose to return here to private medical practice and live out the rest of his life in relative obscurity. He was a real Anak Pulau Pinang, a real Son of the Penang Free School.

Press conference before the start of the talk. From left: MS Rajendren (president of The Old Frees' Association), Loke Gim Tay (vice-president of the Singapore-China Friendship Association), Dr Alex Ooi (president of The Old Frees' Association Singapore), Datuk Anwar Fazal (chairman of Think City), Ong Lay Hong (speaker and producer of the documentary film “Plague Fighter Dr Wu Lien-Teh”) and Dr Ye Tian (chair of the Division of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University)

Wu Lien-Teh public lecture

We are very proud to announce Professor Dr Zhong Nanshan as the recipient of the fourth Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health 2025.

Academician Prof Dr Zhong Nanshan is a renown respiratory specialist from China and he shall deliver his lecture, From SARS to COVID-19: 20 Years' Lessons of Coronavirus Infections. The lecture shall be followed by a Health Forum with Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Noor Hisham bin Abdullah on Pandemic Preparedness-Lessons Learnt and Ways Forward.

We cordially invite you to attend this year's Public Lecture and the award ceremony to celebrate his success in conjunction with Dr Wu Lien-Teh's 147th birthday anniversary.

Details of the Public Lecture
Date: 08 March 2025 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00pm – 5:00pm
Venue: Penang Institute, 10 Brown Road, 10350 George Town
Organisers: The Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society and Penang Institute

Registration Link:
(For Physical Attendance) https://bit.ly/Zhong-Nan-Shan
(Important Note: There is no live broadcast this year.)

Entrance to this event is FREE. No refreshment will  be provided.

Do come and join us for this inspirational lecture and celebrate Dr Wu's birthday at the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Garden in Penang Institute! 

See you! 

Sincerely yours
The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society

About Prof Dr Zhong Nanshan:
Professor Dr Zhong Nanshan, 89-years-old, a leading Chinese pulmonologist and epidemiologist, is a global public health champion. He played pivotal roles in controlling the SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks, advocating for transparency and evidence-based approaches. His confirmation of COVID-19's human-to-human transmission was crucial. Dr Zhong's expertise has guided international pandemic responses, emphasising scientific rigour and decisive action. His dedication to public service and respiratory disease research makes him a vital figure in global health, and a worthy recipient of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award.

About The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society Penang:
The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society Penang preserves the legacy of Dr Wu Lien-Teh, a pioneering Penang-born physician. It raises awareness of his contributions to public health, notably his work combating the Manchurian plague. The society promotes his values: dedication to public service, scientific advancement and public health reform. Through lectures, exhibitions and historical preservation, it educates the public, especially youth, about Dr Wu's impact. The society inspires future medical professionals, ensuring his innovative methods and commitment to global health continue to influence contemporary practices.

Rabindranath Tagore, Wu Lien-Teh commemorative mural

It was back in January that we got to learn that the Hu Yu Seah would be commissioning a painter to put up a wall mural at the association to commemorate two outstanding citizens of the world; the two personalities being Rabindranath Tagore and Wu Lien-Teh.

Why they should be so singled out for recognition was soon revealed when the committee members of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society were invited to a press conference on 25 Jan at the Seah. We were told that both the Indian Nobel Prize laureate for Literature and our own Dr Wu had each laid foundation stones for the Hu Yu Seah buildings in the past.

On 14 Aug 1927, Tagore had visited Penang and he was invited to lay the foundation stone for the main Hu Yu Seah building. And on 25 Dec 1938, it was the turn of Wu to lay a second foundation stone for an adjacent block in the Seah premises.

Anyone travelling along Madras Lane in the subsequent weeks would not have failed to notice the British painter, Gabriel Pitcher, busily use the front of the vernacular primary school, the SJK(C) Hu Yu Seah, as his canvas. By and large, the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society was invited back to the Hu Yu Seah on 10 Mar 2018 for the official launch of the commemorative mural. Coincidentally, as the 10th of March happened to be the 139th birthday anniversary of Wu Lien-Teh himself, this was a very special occasion that pleased many of us.

For the uninitiated, Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta, India, on 7 May 1861. He was a Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist and painter who introduced the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature. He also participated in the Indian nationalist movement in his own non-sentimental and visionary way. Gandhi, the political founder of modern India, was his devoted friend. Tagore was knighted by the ruling British Government in 1915 but within a few years, he resigned the honour as a protest against British policies in India. He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and vice-versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th Century India. In 1913, he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. (Extracted from a Think City press statement dated 10 Mar 2018.)

Much has already been written about Dr Wu Lien-Teh in this blog but again, for the completeness of this story, I would say that he was born in Penang on 10 Mar 1879 and was educated at Penang Free School and received the prestigious Queen's Scholarship to study medicine at Cambridge University. He is celebrated as "The Plague Fighter" who saved thousands of lives in the north-eastern China in the early 1910s when an outbreak of pneumonic epidemic was successfully halted by Dr Wu, working out of the city of Harbin using new scientific approaches to prevent the spread of the killer disease. He set up the Anti-Opium Society in Malaya and fought against colonial racism. He wrote extensively and was recognised globally. In 1935, Dr Wu Lien-Teh became the first Malaysian to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. (Also extracted from the same Think City press statement.)

The mural was painted by Gabriel Pitcher, an artist from Britain who first visited George Town in 2014 to help a friend set up a solo exhibition and was so charmed by George Town that he extended his stay till today. His work takes him all around the world but he has made Penang his base. Gabriel's work focusses on expressive figurative portraits and he has done various outdoor murals in Malaysia, Indonesia and the United States.

The Rabindranath Tagore-Dr Wu Lien-Teh mural was funded by the Hu Yu Seah in collaboration with Think City, the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang Gandhi Peace Centre, Ming Art and CanCan Public Art. (Think City is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and is funded by Yayasan Hasanah. It is a community-focused urban regeneration body established in 2009 to help rejuvenate the heritage city of George Town. It has since established its presence in Butterworth, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru.)

Dr Wu Lien-Teh: Still Malaysia's largely unsung hero

What does it take to make Dr Wu Lien-Teh's name more familiar with the people of this land? 

His works are so well documented in China but still largely unknown in Malaysia, the land of his birth and death.

Apparently, it will still take a lot more work before Wu Lien-Teh will be truly appreciated and acknowledged for what he had done on the world stage of public health. But what impact did he have on the international public health debates of his time?

If the public talk on Wu Lien-Teh, organised jointly by the Penang Heritage Trust and the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society at the former's Church Street office in George Town, Penang, on 1 Jun 2014, can be taken as indicative, he played a very prominent role internationally. More than 50 years after his death in 1960, the Chinese, especially, are still totally indebted to him.

The Sunday afternoon talk in George Town attracted some 30 or so people, including people from the medical profession and some Taiwanese folk, but they were attentive as guest speaker David Luesink, a visiting assistant professor in East Asian History at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, USA, gave an interesting account on his research into Wu Lien-Teh's work and interacted with the audience.

"Dr Wu spent time training in the top bacteriological labs, and was the foremost expert on plague in the world, up till the late 1930s,” according to Luesink.

While Western medical authorities thought it was bubonic plague, he proved beyond doubt to the medical fraternity that it was pneumonic plague and hence succeeded in containing what could have been an international pandemic.

Needless to say, he faced several prejudices while fighting the plague, not least from a very unhappy fellow medical colleague, a French doctor named GE Mesny, who could not accept Dr Wu as a peer and questioned his methods.

Mesny's famous outburst, "You, you Chinaman, how dare you laugh at me and contradict your superior?", was well documented in Wu Lien-Teh's memoirs, Plague Fighter.

The French doctor refused to wear a face mask while examining infected patients in Harbin and himself succumbed to the pneumonic plague about six days after he was exposed to it.

For the record, the Carnegie Fund Committee of France awarded a Foundation Gold Medal to Mesny's widow in May 1911. It was reported briefly in the New York Times of 16 May 1911 that Mesny "lost his life while engaged in heroically fighting the plague at Harbin."

According to the same brief NYT news item, "Mesny was among the foreign physicians who volunteered their services in combating the plague in the Far East. His death occurred Jan 12.

"When he realised that he was attacked by the plague he isolated himself in his rooms at a hotel, drafted his will, and wrote farewell letters. He begged his friends not to inform his wife of his illness, and died alone."

For his life's work, Wu Lien-Teh was nominated in 1935 for the Nobel Peace in Medicine, the only time that a Malayan or Malaysian had ever achieved such high recognition in medical research.

My other stories about Wu Lien-Teh are linked from here.

Public health award

It was a good outing this afternoon. Went to Penang Institute for the sixth Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society annual public lecture. Several weeks ago when the invited speaker was revealed as the Director-General of Health Malaysia, Dr Noor Hisham bin Abdullah, the news had caused quite a stir in Penang. Imagine, the DG himself would be turning up in Penang to honour a true Malaysian hero! 

As expected, the Press turned up in full force at the venue to listen to Noor Hisham's updates on the coronavirus situation in the country. Although the Society might have felt a little sidelined by the presence of the DG, my impression was that the occasion had also brought Dr Wu Lien-Teh back into the limelight. Not too late nor too much!

Together with the public lecture, we also held a little ceremony to receive two paintings of Wu Lien-Teh from a lady artist, Lim Guat Eng. She told me later that prior to several months ago, she had never heard of the doctor but after she did, she was inspired enough to interpret Wu Lien-Teh in two paintings. The first one was completed in two weeks but the second one was more complimented and took her about a month to paint. In any case, she decided to give both paintings to the Society. 

In the last few weeks, the paintings had been sent for framing. I had visited the frame maker about a fortnight ago to take pictures of the paintings before they were mounted as I knew that once framed, reflection would be unavoidable if anyone tried to photograph them. But I was only half successful as one of them was already framed. Ah, well....

Anyway, back to the public lecture, we had the Chief Executive of Penang Institute, Ooi Kee Beng, give his welcome address before Anwar Fazal, the President of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, took to the floor to enthrall everyone with his customary informative address. Noor Hisham then spent about an hour on the lecturn to give everyone in the room, as well as those who had tuned in on YouTube and facebook, on a journey of the last 27 or 28 months from the time that the Covid-19 virus had surfaced in Wuhan in November 2019 till the present moment. There was also a more interesting Question And Answer session with the inevitable question of Ivermectin cropping up. More of that in a later posting!

Noor Hisham bin Abdullah receiving The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society Leadership in Public Health Award from Anwar Fazal

The committee members of The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society with the Director-General of Health and CEO of Penang Institute: (left to right) Cheah Cheng Chua, Ronald Quay, Ooi Geok Ling, myself, Hor Chee Peng, Anwar Fazal, Noor Hisham bin Abdullah, Ooi Kee Beng, Clement Liang, Alison Chong and Chin Poh Chin

The unveiling of the two paintings by Anwar Fazal and Noor Hisham with the artist, Lim Guat Eng (far left) and Ooi Kee Beng (far right) looking on. The two paintings will be on display at the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Room in the Penang Institute building.

Ooi Kee Beng (CEO, Penang Institute), Anwar Fazal (President, The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society) and Noor Hisham bin Abdullah (Director-General of Health, Malaysia)

Dr Zhong Nanshan in Penang

Quite frankly, I didn't know who Dr Zhong Nanshan was until about three months before the 146th anniversary of Dr Wu Lien-Teh's birth. Dr Wu Lien-Teh was, of course, one of Penang's most well-known personalities of the 20th century. Fresh from winning the Queen's Scholarship as a pupil of Penang Free School, he went on to study medicine at the University of Cambridge in England. After returning, he had a short stint in private practice in Penang before being unfairly persecuted by the British colonial authorities, forcing him to accept an invitation to work in Imperial China. There, he gained worldwide fame as the plague fighter, eradicating the dreaded plague that had claimed around 60,000 lives in 1911. When his home in Shanghai was destroyed by Japanese bombing, he moved his family back to Malaya, where he resumed private practice in Ipoh. He retired to Penang in January 1960 but died suddenly a week later of a brain attack. That, in short, was the life of Dr Wu Lien-Teh.

The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society was set up in 2012 by a group of Old Frees determined to revive his legacy. Since then, the Society has worked tirelessly to promote his name, including awarding gold medals to outstanding university students. Over the past decade, the Society has also organised annual public lectures where prominent figures from the medical field have been invited to speak—not just to doctors, but to the wider public. Then, in 2022, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged on, a pivotal decision was made to introduce the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Award for Leadership in Public Health. The first recipient was Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, then Malaysia’s Director-General of Health. Day in and day out, as Malaysians struggled through the pandemic, Noor Hisham became a familiar face on television and social media, providing daily updates on infections, deaths, government measures, vaccinations and the need for face masks. It was no surprise that he was chosen as the award’s inaugural recipient.

A few thousand kilometres away in China, another medical man was doing more or less the same for his fellow citizens. Dr Zhong Nanshan, having already battled SARS and MERS, was the public face of China’s fight against Covid-19. I’m told that many Malaysians who knew Mandarin also tuned in to his briefings. But for me, well, I knew hardly anything about him. When our Society meetings rolled around and our Secretary-General spoke excitedly about Zhong Nanshan this and Zhong Nanshan that, I found myself wondering—who was this person commanding so much attention?

Now I know. Dr Zhong is a renowned public health expert from China, director of the Guangzhou National Laboratory and the National Clinical Research Centre for Respiratory Disease. He doesn’t travel much these days due to his advanced age—he’ll be 90 later this year—but, to everyone’s surprise, he agreed to travel to Penang to accept his award in person. When word spread that such a distinguished doctor was coming to deliver a public lecture on 08 March 2025, invitations were snapped up quickly. The conference hall at the Penang Institute was packed with registered guests, while those who arrived after registration closed were ushered into an adjoining room to watch via video feed.

In his acceptance speech, Dr Zhong said the award would further motivate him to build bridges, nurture trust and champion health for all. He expressed profound gratitude and humility, saying the honour was not just a personal achievement but a testament to the enduring spirit of collaboration between nations and a shared commitment to global health. “I am deeply moved to stand in the footsteps of Dr Wu Lien-Teh, a son of Penang whose pioneering work bridged nations and saved countless lives. By honouring leaders who embody Dr Wu’s courage and compassion, you ignite a beacon for future generations to follow. This award reaffirms my resolve to uphold his ethos of service, science and solidarity,” he said.

Adding a personal touch to the occasion, Dr Zhong was delighted to meet Pauline Barr, 78, who had taught him English when he studied in England 45 years ago. Pauline and her husband, Joe, now residing in Langkawi, made the journey to Penang just to see him again.

Among those present at the event were Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, State Assembly Speaker Law Choo Kiang, State Exco members Daniel Gooi and Wong Hon Wai, and former Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon. Also in attendance was Ding Qiao, the vice-consul general of China in Penang. During the event, it was also announced that Loke Gim Tay had been made an adviser to the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, the second such appointment after Cheah Cheng Hye five years ago.

In his speech, the Chief Minister praised Dr Zhong’s dedication to scientific excellence, his courage in challenging prevailing narratives and his ability to communicate crucial public health information. “Like Dr Wu, he has demonstrated the power of scientific innovation and an unwavering commitment to public service. His work has not only transformed public health in China but has also provided invaluable lessons for Malaysia and the rest of the world. Dr Zhong embodies the very values that Dr Wu championed, making him a most deserving recipient of this award,” he said. Chow also took a moment to honour Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah for his steadfast leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Later, after the public lecture, Dr Noor Hisham was invited to join Dr Zhong on stage, where the two past and present Dr Wu Lien-Teh award recipients participated in a health forum moderated by the Society's secretary-general, Dr Hor Chee Peng. The audience listened intently as Noor Hisham shared his experiences managing the Covid-19 crisis in the country. Today, he continues to contribute to healthcare as chairman of the National Heart Institute. 

Kudos to our tireless Secretary-General for a job well done!

Loke Gim Tay is the newly appointed second adviser to the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society. His association with the Society dated back to May 2012 when a group of Old Frees organised a Penang Story lecture on Wu Lien-Teh at the Wawasan Open University in Penang. The Society came into being a few months later primarily because of that event.

Jalan Dr Wu Lien Teh

Somehow, you would begin to realise that your contributions may be starting to bear some fruit when you see positive changes around you.

For example, I've been in the committee of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society for quite a while - since its inception, actually - and one of our objectives is to reconnect Penangites with this doctor who had been largely forgotten with the passage of time.

After all, it has been 140 years since Dr Wu Lien-Teh was born and 109 years since he fought and won against the dreaded plague. Next January would mark the 60th anniversary of his death.

I've written about him several times on my blog too; click here to read.

Recently, I was alerted that there was a new road in George Town, which connected Jalan Kampong Jawa Baru with Jalan SP Chelliah, and it was called Jalan Dr Wu Lien Teh. That got me pretty excited and I made it a point to track it down.

So now, in addition to Taman Wu Lien Teh (mind you, this is the name of a road and not a garden) in a residential area opposite his alma mater, Penang Free School, and a Jalan Wu Lean Teh (a misspelling, no doubt) in Ipoh, there is a new Jalan Dr Wu Lien Teh in Penang.

Apparently, the Penang Government must have listened closely to all the noise that we in the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society have been generating since 2012 and decided that it was time to remember this great man again. A real-life Penang-born hero.

And I can tell you that we, the Old Frees around the world, are feeling pretty chuffed as well, ever since I broke the news on facebook and in my whatsapp postings.

Or maybe, the fact that the bust of Dr Wu Lien-Teh is now displayed prominently on the grounds of the Penang Institute in Brown Road had something to do with it. The bust, which is a gift from the University of Harbin in China, is an irresistible attraction. Standing in the front of the Penang Institute for a few years now - it used to be located at the Penang Medical College - it can hardly be missed by visitors.