KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA 7 April 2013 – The 3rd ASEAN Chiefs of Military Medicine Conference (ACMMC) was held at The Royale Chulan Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and hosted by Division of Health Services, Malaysian Armed Forces from 7-11th April 2013.
The theme of the conference was ‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’. Brunei Darussalam sent a delegation led by the Chief Medical Officer of Medical Services, Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Lt Col Dr Awg Mohd Hafizul bin Hj Awg Mohd Hassan.
Before the conference, a bilateral meeting between Lieutenant General Dato’ Pahlawan Dr Abdul Razak bin Md Yusoff, Director General of Malaysian Armed Forces, Division of Health Services and Chief Medical Officer of RBAF was also held. A welcoming dinner was held at The Penthouse, Malaysian Armed Forces, Officers’ Mess and the delegates were welcomed by the Chief of Defence Forces, Malaysian Armed Forces, General Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Zulkifeli bin Mohd Zin, who also graciously officiated as the guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the 3rd ACMMC.
During this 3rd ACMMC the Young ASEAN Military Medical Officers (YAMMOs) Scientific Programme was also held concurrently where both Capt Dr Norasiah Haji Ahmad and Capt Dr Fetty Ruziyana Haji Aliuddin presented. They each presented on a topic on Emerging Infectious Diseases namely; Reflective Practice: A Case of Tuberculosis in The Royal Brunei Armed Forces, and; Management of Food Poisoning, respectively.
A series of visits was also arranged for all the delegates. The YAMMOs also had the opportunity to visit the Royal Malaysian Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine (IAM) PULLS-G Center in Subang. All delegates visited the Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital (HATTM), Kuala Lumpur which is the leading military hospital in Malaysia. It was opened in 2009 at a cost of USD$ 85 million (RM 270 million). The Brunei delegates also had the opportunity to visit the Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, National Defence University of Malaysia, Sungai Besi Camp, Kuala Lumpur and was hosted by the Dean of the Faculty, Major General Professor Dato Dr Mohd Zain bin Bidin. This faculty was established with a unique medical curriculum which combines medical science and military science in its undergraduate program which includes specific “niche areas” related to Military Medicine such as “Aerospace Medicine”, “Underwater Medicine”, “Battlefield Medicine” and “Disaster Medicine”.
At the end of the conference, Brunei Darussalam was announced as the host for the 4th ACMMC in 2014 according to the ACMMC mandate as the ASEAN Summit is being held in Brunei Darussalam this year. The Medical Service, RBAF is honoured to have the opportunity to host the 4th ACMMC in Brunei Darussalam in 2014.
