Chancellors & Pro-Chancellors

Tun Dr Mohamed Zahir bin Haji Ismail graduated as a Barrister-At­Law, Lincoln’s Inn, London in 1955. He returned to Malaysia in 1956 to practise as an Advocate & Solicitor from 1956 to 1975, in the private sector. During this period, he was appointed as a member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly and almost immediately, as an Executive Councillor. In 1963, he was appointed as the Menteri Besar of Kedah. He also became a Senator in 1959, representing Kedah and served until 1964 when he was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Sungai Petani. He served as MP until 1969 when he returned to private legal practice.

 

In 1975, Tun Zahir was appointed as a High Court Judge based in Kuala Lumpur and later transferred to Kota Bharu, Kelantan. He served in this capacity until 1982. On account of his legal and political experience he was called upon to yet again serve the Malaysian people, this time in the esteemed capacity as the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat).

 

Tun Zahir’s experiences in providing parliamentarian leadership has been recognised by his colleagues in the ASEAN region and the Commonwealth community. Thus, he has been honoured with the posts of President of the Malaysian Branch of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation, President of the ASEAN Pacific Parliamentary Union, President of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation and President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

 

Tun Zahir’s talents and skills are not just limited to the fields of politics and law. He also shines as an author of Malay literature, having published various articles in magazines and newspapers. In addition, he has written many novels and scripts for dramas.

 

In August 1998, Tun Zahir was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy (Management) by the Universiti Utara Malaysia. Prior to this, he was appointed the Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 1982.

Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr Sulaiman Haji Daud pursued his further studies in Otago University New Zealand under the Colombo Plan Scholarship in 1957 and graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery. In 1965, Tan Sri Sulaiman was awarded a Colombo Plan Scholarship to do his postgraduate degree specialising in Public Health at the University of Toronto, Canada. Upon his return to Sarawak, he was posted to the various parts of the state and travelled extensively in its remote areas to provide dental services to the needy. He had a brief stint of two years with the Brunei Government as a dental officer. Upon his return to Sarawak, he was invited to be involved in politics.

 

Tan Sri Sulaiman’s active participation in politics began in 1972 when the then Prime Minister, the late YAB Tun Razak Hussein, appointed him as the Political Secretary to the then Minister of Primary Industry, YB Taib Mahmud. About three months later, he was asked to stand in the by-election in the State Constituency of Sebandi in Semarahan. He won with a huge majority resulting in his opponents losing their deposits. On the announcement of the results of the by-election, the then Chief Minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Yaakub, appointed Tan Sri Sulaiman as the Minister for Land and Mines, Sarawak. In 1974, Tan Sri Sulaiman was elected the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Santubong and was appointed Deputy Minister for Land and Mines, Malaysia. Thus began his political career at the Federal level.

 

The 27 long years of his term as a Member of Parliament for Santubong (now Petra Jaya) and one and a half years as a Member of Sarawak State Legislative Assembly saw Tan Sri Sulaiman holding thirteen portfolios, probably a record of some sort.

 

He served the longest as Federal Minister of Education, for a period of about eight years. It was during his term as the Minister of Education that he launched the International Medical College on 13 April 1992. He retired as the Minister of Agriculture at the end of 1999 and was re-elected Vice-President of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak.

 

While in office, he represented Malaysia in many international conferences, holding important posts such as Chairman of the ASEAN Ministers of Education Council, elected Member of the Executive Board of UNESCO and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and others.

Dato’ Seri Dr Devaraj hails from Penang and attained a MBBS degree in 1952 from University of Malaya, Singapore. He also possesses many other specialist qualifications such as FRCPE and Diploma in Palliative Medicine. Dr Devaraj started his career as a medical officer with the Ministry of Health and later became a consultant physician retiring in 1979. For the next twelve years he was in private practice including being an Honorary Physician at Adventist Hospital, Penang. He helped to launch the Penang Hospice Society in 2011 and is currently the Chairman of Executive Committee. Dr Devaraj has also held posts of Chairman of Malaysian Hospice Council from 1998-2002, 2004-2008, and 2010-2014. Currently, he is the Advisor to the Malaysian Hospice Council.

 

His contributions to the medical fraternity is exceptional and inspiring. Dr Devaraj is the founder member of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and served as its President in 1983, as well as having been the chairman of the ethics committee. He was also involved with the MMA Foundation in addition to being an elected member of Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) from 1979-1998. His other interests for over forty years has been the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Penang Branch and the family planning movement in Malaysia.

 

For his achievements and contributions in the medical field, Dr Devaraj had received many state and federal awards and honours including for the first time the Penang Medical Practitioners’ Outstanding Doctor’s Award in 2004 and in 2005 selected as one of the Caring Physicians of the World by the World Medical Association.

Dato’ Dr Amir Abbas hails from the state of Perak and had his early education in Taiping. He read medicine at the University of Malaya in Singapore and graduated with MBBS in 1961. Upon graduation, he returned to Malaysia and served the Ministry of Health as a medical officer in Kuala Kangsar, Kuala Lumpur and lpoh before he was appointed as a research officer at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR).  In 1967, he left for the United Kingdom to pursue his postgraduate studies.

 

There he obtained the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the University of Liverpool and passed his examinations for Membership of the Royal College of Physicians. He returned to Malaysia in 1969 and was appointed the Head of the Rural Health Research Department at the IMR.

 

In 1972, he was selected by the government to establish the new Medical Faculty at Universiti  Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and was the Foundation Dean of the Faculty from 1972 -1975 before leaving the university for private practice. Dato’ Dr Amir played a key role in establishing the Subang Jaya Medical Centre and was the Medical Director and consultant physician there from 1985 -1987.

 

Dato’ Dr Amir had been a member of the Councils of both Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and the University of Malaya. He was also a past President of the College of Physicians of Malaysia and a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia. In recognition of his significant contributions to the development of medicine in Malaysia, Dato’ Dr Amir was conferred the Honorary Doctor of Medicine Science by UKM in 2001.

 

IMU has benefitted tremendously from Dato’ Dr Amir’s wisdom and experience. Dato’ Dr Amir was a member of the Board of Governors from 2006 -2013 and the third Pro­Chancellor of the University from 2011 to 2013.

Dr Gan completed his secondary education in Bukit Mertajam High School and matriculation in Coburg High School in Melbourne. He graduated in Pharmacology (Hons) from the University of Western Australia and was awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council scholarship to pursue his PhD in Pharmacology under Professor M. F. Lockett, a world-renowned Pharmacologist from the University of London. Dr Gan obtained his PhD in 1972 for his thesis, “Intra-renal Secretion of Renin”.

 

He joined Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) where he started as a Lecturer in the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and was promoted through the ranks with the last posting being the Dean of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences for 17 years from 1979-95. During his tenure as Dean, the School gained international prominence in clinical pharmacy education as well as consultancy services and research and development (R&D) activities. During this time, he was instrumental in setting up three new centres at USM: the Drug Research Centre in 1981, the National Poison Centre in 1995, and the National Doping Control Centre in 1996.

 

Dato’ Dr Gan Ee Kiang has been actively involved in the International Medical University (IMU) since 2005 when he was appointed a member of the Board of Governors. He later served as IMU’s fourth Pro-Chancellor from 2014 to 2017.

Dr Mei Ling Young was the Advisor and Board Member of the IMU Group. She also held the positions of Provost (1999-2015) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, International and Engagement (2016-2017) at the International Medical university. Dr Young completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the University of Auckland, (BA, MA [Hons in Geography]) and the Australian National University (PhD in Demography) respectively.

 

Dr Young joined Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1979 as a lecturer in Development Studies, School of Social Sciences and left in 1985 to set up Sesama Consulting Group Sdn Bhd. She was also an Associate Research Fellow with the Malaysia Institute of Economic Research where she wrote on regional development, manpower planning and private education. In 1991, she established the IMC with Datuk Dr Kamal Salih and the late Dr Saidi Hashim.

 

She played a key role in managing the international faculty and was responsible for developing the credit transfer partnerships with Partner Medical Schools from Australasia, North America, United Kingdom and Ireland. The consortium grew from five to 37 partner schools including a twinned degree in pharmacy with the University of Strathclyde. Dr Young played a major role in the growth and development of the IMU since its inception in 1992. Her interest in medical education research is on longitudinal studies on IMU graduates.

 

Dr Young was a driving force in expanding the IMU’s plan to be an integrated healthcare provider by establishing the IMU Healthcare in 2010 with an oral healthcare centre, chiropractic centre, medical clinic and Chinese medicine centre. Adding on to this was the development of an IMU hospital, scheduled to open in 2022.

 

Dr Young was the first Asian to be awarded the prestigious Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) Gold Medal 2017. She was also the President of the Malaysian Association of Private Colleges & Universities (MAPCU) from 2015-2017.

Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Yahya bin Awang, an eminent cardiothoracic surgeon, graduated from Monash University, Melbourne in 1974. He trained as a Cardiac Surgeon from 1980-83 at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Brompton Hospital, London.

 

Upon his return to Malaysia, he had helped to develop cardiac surgery locally and was instrumental in training cardiac surgeons and cardiac paramedics to meet the needs of the nation.

 

In 1992, Dr Yahya, together with his colleagues, pioneered the establishment of the National Heart Institute (IJN), where he also established the Clinical Research Unit, which enabled the Institute to undertake clinical research and collection of relevant clinical data in cardiac surgery.

 

Dr Yahya is known for performing the coronary artery bypass surgery on Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, in 1989 and leading a team in performing the first heart transplant in Malaysia on 18 December 1997. He also served as IMU’s fifth Pro-Chancellor from 2018-2020.

 

Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman received his MBBS from Monash University, Australia (1968), and earned his Master of Medicine (Internal Medicine) from the University of Singapore (1974). He became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and underwent postgraduate Nephrology training in the USA and Australia (1975-1976). In 1991, he attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

As a pioneer in Malaysian nephrology, Dr Abu Bakar established and expanded the dialysis and transplant services at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, extending to other hospitals nationwide. Actively contributing to the nation’s healthcare system, he represented Malaysia internationally at various health organisations from 1991 to 2001.

 

Upon retiring in 2001, Dr Abu Bakar joined the International Medical University (IMU) as President and under his guidance, the IMU launched its healthcare services that fulfilled the dual role of providing care for the community while supporting clinical training and enabling clinicians and healthcare practitioners to further develop their skills. He has also been instrumental in the development of new learning initiatives – including those promoting professionalism and ethics, clinical and communication skills, information management and independent learning – and in driving the incorporation of e-learning in the university.

 

Dr Abu Bakar has held key positions including Director General of Health Malaysia (1991-2001), President of International Medical University (2001-2016), Chairman of IHH Healthcare (2011-2017), and Emeritus President/Chairman of IMU Health (2001-2023).

 

He continues to actively participate in various national and international platforms and presides on various national committees including being a member of the national advisory council under the Ministry of Health. He currently serves as President and Board of Governors for the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Chairman of Medical Defence Malaysia.

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Chong Hon Nyan was born in Kuala Lumpur and received his primary and secondary education at the then Batu Road School and Victoria Institution, respectively. It was only after the end of the Second World War that he entered Raffles College, Singapore in 1946 on a Raffles College Scholarship to read English. It was then the only institution for tertiary education serving in Singapore and Malaysia. He obtained a first-class in his diploma in English in 1949. He joined the education service soon after, teaching secondary classes in- the High School in Klang for nearly a year. He then joined the Straits Settlements Civil Service embracing Singapore, Penang and Malacca and was appointed as an Assistant District Officer in the Central District of Malacca from 1949 to 1952. This was during the height of the emergency involving an attempted uprising by Communist-inspired terrorists. Amongst his other responsibilities was that of resettling settlers in danger-prone areas in New Villages at some personal risk. He was awarded a Federal Government scholarship, conditional upon his gaining a place in Cambridge University to read for a degree of his own choice. He chose to continue his studies in English. On entry to Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, in 1952 he discovered that the English course included Old English and Philology which did not appeal to him and he promptly changed his course to law. He completed his Law Tripos in 1955 but was recalled to Malaya before he could take the Bar examinations as the country was preparing for independence and required trained Malayans. His B.A. (Hons) was followed by an M.A. degree in accordance with the practice in Cambridge. He was awarded a fellowship by Harvard University in the summer of 1954 to attend a summer course in Politics, Economics and Philosophy as a graduate student.

 

He was re-posted to Malacca and served as an Assistant State Secretary until he was selected to join the Malayan Civil Service in 1957. He served in the Federal Establishment Office in the Prime Minister’s Department. Subsequently, he transferred to the Ministry of Finance and then to the Ministry of Agriculture as Secretary General before being re-posted to the Ministry of Finance as its Secretary General in 1972. He was awarded the AMN, KMN, JMN, PSM and DGSM(Malacca) for his public services.

 

In the General Elections in 1974, he was elected as a member of Parliament for the Batu Berendam constituency of Malacca and served the constituency for three successive terms until 1984.

 

During that period, he was also the Deputy Minister of Finance, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Minister of Health and of Transport after which he opted to retire from the Cabinet. He was Secretary General of the MCA until his retirement.

 

During the course of his public service, he attended meetings of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Colombo Plan, World Health Organisation, Commonwealth Finance and Health Ministers’ Conferences and Economic and Social Commissions for Asia and the Pacific Region. He also visited countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America as the leader of various official government delegations and was elected President of the World Health Assembly in 1982 for a year. He is the National Patron of the Boys’ Brigade in Malaysia, Chairman of the Trustees of the Tan Sri Lee Yan Lian Charitable Foundation and Patron of the Selangor and Federal Territory Gardening Society. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors of Montfort Boys’ Town, Honorary Treasurer of the Malaysian Association for the Blind, Council Member of the Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital, Chairman of the Council of Tunku Abdul Rahman College, member of the Lions Club, Patron of the Y.M.C.A. and independent member of the National Economic Consultative Council appointed by the Prime Minister. He 6 1 is an independent non-executive Director of a number of public listed and private companies and a member of the Board of Governors of the International Medical University.

 

Hailing from the state of Penang, Dato’ Dr Lim Kee Jin was educated at Hutchings School and then Penang Free School. He went on to study medicine at the University of Malaya in Singapore and qualified in 1952.

 

He joined the General Hospital in Penang as a house physician and was promoted to the position of a senior house officer and then as the medica registrar. In 1956, Dr Lim left for the UK where he joined the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary’s Derrick Dunlop unit. Upon his return to Malaysia in 1958, he joined the General Hospital in Johor Bahru as a consultant physician and later in 1969 became a senior consultant physician at the same hospital.

 

Dr Lim was interested in medical education and founded the postgraduate medical centre at the General Hospital. This was a first in Malaysia. He was also the Chairman of this centre.

 

Dr Lim has written papers on a diverse range of topics and these include coronary heart disease in young men, snake bites, acute transverse myelitis, nephrotic syndrome and motor neurone disease in young adults. He was a member of the editorial board of the Malaysian Medical Journal and editor in chief of the Malaysian Medical Association Newsletter.

 

He was president of the Association of Physicians of Malaysia (1964-1965), assistant master of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (1965-1966), a member of the National Health Council of Malaysia and of the Malayan Medical Council (1960-1966). From 1969 to 1970 he was president of the Malaysian Medical Association.

 

Dr Lim has received a number of national honours and awards. These include the Sultan Ibrahim medal (1960), the Knight of the Most Distinguished Order of the Defender of the Realm (1966), the Companion of the Most Honourable Order of Johor (1965) and the Commander of the Most Honourable Order of Johor (1972).

Datin Paduka Setia Dato’ Dr Aini Ideris, a renowned scientist in Avian Medicine and veteran researcher, graduated from the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1979, Master of Veterinary Science from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom (1981) and Doctor of Philosophy in Avian Medicine (1989) from UPM.

 

Her research area is in the control of avian respiratory and immunosuppressive diseases, and development of poultry vaccines, some of these research have resulted in commercialisation of poultry vaccines that are sold across the world.

 

The pinnacle of her success was in 2013, when she was inducted as one of the Inaugural Members of the Hall of Honour, by the World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA) for her contributions to scientific research, poultry education and training, poultry health systems and for her outstanding leadership qualities. This is the most prestigious recognition accorded by the Avian Veterinary Fraternity worldwide to outstanding recipients.

 

Dr Aini is actively involved in many committees at the national and international levels, as Council member, Chairperson or Executive Committee member. She is also a member of the International Medical University (IMU)’s Board of Governors since 2012.