Ungku Omar bin Ungku Ahmad
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From Johor Bahru Directory
| The oldest polytechnic in Malaysia, the Ungku Omar Polytechnic in Ipoh, is named after Ungku Omar Ungku Ahmad, one of the illustrious sons of Johor Bahru. |
Ungku Omar bin Ungku Ahmad (born 1931, c. 80) is a prominent Malaysian educator and scientist, and one of the illustrious sons of Johor Bahru. The oldest polytechnic in Malaysia, the Ungku Omar Polytechnic located in Ipoh, Perak, is named after him in recognition of his enormous contribution to the field of education in Malaysia.
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2. Education: Born in Johor Bahru in 1931, Ungku Omar initially studied at the Malay-medium schools in Tangkak, Pontian, and Segamat in Johor, after which he attended an English-medium school in Kluang and then went on to Malay College Kuala Kangsar. In 1957, he obtained his Degree in Medicine from the University of Malaya which was then based in Singapore, and served as a medical officer at the Centre for Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur. He then furthered his studies in pathology and obtained his professional diplomas from the Royal College of Physicians, London and the Royal College of Surgeon. In 1965, Ungku Omar received his PhD degree from the University of London with his thesis, entitled "Electrolytes in Isolated Human Leucocytes".
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3. Contribution to the health fields: After obtaining his doctorate degree, Ungku Omar became the Director of the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) in 1965 and published a prominent international journal, the Journal of Clinical Pathology. He frequently asserted that the backwardness of rural Malays is caused by the deplorable health conditions in the rural areas. As such, he paid particular attention to improving the health of these rural folks. Ungku Omar employed various media, such as radio talks, to educate the rural communities on the need to take care of one's health, so much so he became known as the "Radio Doctor". A member of the College of Pathologist in London, as well as an honorary member of the College of American Pathologist in the United States, his contributions to the field of scientific and medical research have won international recognition from such organizations as the World Health Organization (WHO). He was also a member of the UNESCO Social Sciences Committee, as well as a member of the Central Coordinating Board for Tropical Medicine (SEAMEC).
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4. Contribution to the field of education: Ungku Omar championed the use of the Malay language in the field of medicine at university level, especially at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) where he played an important role in its establishment. In addition, he also emphasized the use of the Malay language in the faculties of arts and religion, science, medicine, engineering, agriculture, and economics, as many Malay students from national schools could not further their studies up to university level because the lectures were delivered in English.
In a working paper presented at the Pan-Malaysia Seminar on Islamic Civilization, Ungku Omar also proposed the idea of setting up an Islamic university in Malaysia. He suggested that the the medium of instruction in the proposed university be in Malay, Arabic, and English. Apart from teaching Islamic studies and the Arabic language, he also proposed that the Islamic University of Malaysia would also teach such diverse disciplines as commerce, engineering and technology, law, and medicine.
