KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — Top Glove founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai has donated RM2 million to his alma mater Universiti Malaya (UM) to upgrade its Faculty of Medicine’s (FOM) Medical Museum.
The museum will be called ‘Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai Medical Museum’ and renovation work has commenced since July this year and is expected to be concluded in January 2024.
The existing area will be transformed into a state-of-the-art interactive educational hub with an aim at continuing the pursuit of medical knowledge.
“I’ve always been grateful for the chance I got to study here. I got a government scholarship that was subsidised by them, the state government and my parents as well. They invested around RM200,000 in me to do my Physics degree which I finished in 1982,” Lim said during the signing ceremony at UM today.
“I felt very fortunate that so many people were willing to help me with my education with their contributions and have always been very grateful for it. Ever since then I have held this institution very close to my heart and I considered it my duty to give back.
“My passion for lifelong learning, promoting healthy living, and advancing healthcare drives me to support this cause. I hope this donation will enhance the museum’s facilities, benefiting students and researchers and shaping the future of healthcare.
“So it is now time for me to pay back the goodwill I received and I feel I should give back to society tenfold and as such will donate RM2 million for this cause. I count it an honour to be associated with an institution as esteemed as UM and am excited to see the positive impact the museum will have on the future generations of students,” he added.
Lim’s donation will be used to rejuvenate existing resources particularly the Anatomy Resources Centre and Pathology Museum to transform the hall into a more engaging space. Vice Chancellor of UM Datuk Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said he hoped the museum will foster a heightened interest in medical education among children.
“In addition, we also seek to enhance medical education and facilitate related research initiatives. We hope the medical museum will be the leading institution for promotion and dissemination of medical knowledge and history in the country,” he added.
The Anatomy Museum was first established in 1964 right after the establishment of the Anatomy Department & Faculty of Medicine in Petaling Jaya in 1962. Over the years, it has undergone multiple upgrades over the years until it was eventually transformed into the Anatomy Resource Centre in 2000.
The Pathology Museum, founded in 1968 as a learning and teaching centre for students in the field of medicine, showcases various diseases in medicine, boasting the largest collection of its kind in Malaysia
The current upgrade will merge both museums into a unified Medical Museum, creating a hub for knowledge, inspiration, and innovation that will benefit generations to come.
