KUALA LUMPUR – After retiring as health director-general in April, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah steps into a new role as University of Cyberjaya chancellor.
He is also chairing the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Standing Committee of Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response in Geneva and was recently appointed to the Technical Advisory Group on Universal Health Coverage at the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office.
He said he intends to use his role as chancellor to improve health access and equity in the region.
“I share pride in the vision and mission of the University of Cyberjaya. More importantly, I believe that this university has great potential in Malaysia and beyond, to strive to be the best healthcare education hub in the Western Pacific region.
“The University of Cyberjaya’s core values of uplifting local and regional communities with equitable access to quality medical education would be one of the key elements in realising and delivering universal health coverage locally and globally.”
Dr Noor Hisham will replace Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Anwar Ali, who has been with the university since 2019.
He is trained in breast and endocrine surgery under the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Fellowship training programme and obtained his master of surgery and medical degrees from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
He chairs multiple medical professional councils and national-level technical committees and is actively involved as a policymaker in global organisations such as WHO and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.
Dr Noor Hisham is also a councillor-at-large (2017-2021) on the executive board of the International Society of Surgery and chairs its Global Surgery Committee. In March 2020, he was elected chairman of the Asian Association of Endocrine Surgeons. – October 6, 2023