History of Penang Medical Practitioners' Society (PMPS)
The Penang Medical Practitioners' Society (PMPS) was founded in 1932.
Health services then was under the British Colonial Office, and its officers had to answer to their superiors in London and not to the people of Penang. Locals were not considered suitable material for full service in the Colonial Health Service so local doctors, many graduates of British medical schools, were all in private practice.
These local doctors met informally and socially and later decided to officially form PMPS, the first professional association in the country. The role of PMPS had evolved with the times. It played a role in getting the authorities to listen to the problems of private doctors, and at the same time, PMPS was also active in organizing social events and educational programmes to ensure that doctors keep abreast of medical developments.
PMPS Formation and Inaugural Meeting
A group of 18 private medical practitioners met on 27th May 1932 at 337, Anson Road in a meeting convened by Dr J. Emile Smith, a Malayan general practitioner and leader of the Eurasian community. They decided to form the Penang Medical Practitioners' Society; in less than an hour they had draft rules circulated, considered and adopted. The annual subscription fee would be $6.
Founding Members
The founder members of PMPS were:
K Md Arif,, Brandon Bravo, V Chan, Cheah Cheng Poh, GB Croning, EED Lau. Lim Chwee Leong, Lim Poh Thye, NK Menon, Ong Chong Kheng, Ong Huck Chye, Ooi Phee Tuan, Charan Singh, JE Smith, J Stewart, Toh Chin Eng, Teoh Cheng Toe and Yeoh Cheang Hoe.
PMPS Constitution and Rules
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First AGM of PMPS
Following PMPS' inauguration, its first Committee Meeting was held on 29th July that same year. From the minutes of the PMPS meetings, it was recorded that members were primarily concerned with their welfare, voicing their concerns through PMPS. As such, PMPS was a vehicle for making representations to the government regarding general practitioners' grievances.
Besides members' welfare, the PMPS took to organizing a number of social activities for its members such as dinner parties and tea parties.
The first PMPS Annual General Meeting was held at the Strand Hotel on 26th July 1933, with 14 members attending out of a total of 29 members. Two doctors (founder member Dr EED Lau and honorary member, Dr JE Lesslar) had passed away during that year. Members were informed that there was a comfortable surplus in the PMPS operations with subscription collections at $171 and expenditure at $48.32.
At this meeting it was suggested that PMPS should seek recognition by the government so that it could be accorded the privilege of being nominated to the Medical and other Boards where doctors normally served in those years.
It was also suggested that PMPS should represent more general practitioners in the state of Penang, so members were asked to use their influence to get more doctors to join PMPS. The AGM culminated with an annual dinner, the first held in conjunction with the AGM.
For more anecdotes, personal insights and history about Penang and its doctors, please refer to "To Heal The Sick: The Story of Healthcare and Doctors in Penang, 1786 to 2004" (edited by Ong Hean Teik and published by Penang Medical Practitioners' Society.)
Read an independent review of the book here.