Page 3 - NIH Bulletin Vol. 20 July - December 2022 "Nurturing Ideas in Healthcare"

Message from

the Advisor

Assalamualaikum & Salam Sejahtera.
A new journey begins.

Welcome to the NIH Bulletin Vol. 20. This is a very exciting moment for me and
thank you for being part of my very first experience with this bulletin. Some of
you may know me well, and some of you may have only heard of or are getting
to know me. For those of you who had been supporting and working with me
before my new assignment as the Deputy Director General of Health, I owe you
a debt of gratitude.

I am a strong believer of universal health coverage leaving no one behind. As
the arguably most prestigious health research institution in Malaysia, the NIH
has done an incredibly excellent job and is likely to continue to transform the
landscape of healthcare and reshape the health system in line with the Health
White Paper. To take the NIH to the next level, I also sincerely hope that all the six
institutes under its umbrella can come together and strengthen their partnerships to
deliver impactful research.

It is certainly my mission to maximize the potential of the NIH and enhance its
visibility. However, I respect all of you as experts in your fields. You have every
right to make decisions for the good of the organization. Over the last few
weeks, besides being constantly amazed at getting to understand the
amount of work done by all of you, I did take note of your concerns
about the challenges lying in the organization. I have come to realize
how important it is for me to keep my door open and be ready to
hear more from you. Feel free to send me an email or reach out to me
whenever you need support.
Finally, I would like to congratulate those of you who make this
bulletin a success. Keep up the great work!

Datuk Dr. Muhammad Radzi
Abu Hassan
Deputy Director General of Health Malaysia
(Research & Technical Support)

Life Notes...

Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan has been practicing as a consultant physician and
gastroenterologist at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital since 2001. He is recently appointed as the
Deputy Director General of Health (Research and Technical Support) under the Ministry of Health,
Malaysia.
Aside from heading the Clinical Research Center of the Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah (2007-2022) and
authoring numerous publications, he is an important voice in the World Health Organization (WHO)
and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).
His expertise in gastroenterology also shines through with his achievement in research, particularly
on viral hepatitis, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and colorectal cancer.
He was the Head of Service for Gastroenterology and Hepatology from 2013 to 2020. Before sitting in
this new position, he was the Head of Service for Internal Medicine from 2021 to 2022.
As a believer of universal health coverage, he is also the key driver for hepatitis C treatment access
and elimination in Malaysia.

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