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<h1 class="text-center">Emeritus Prof Dr. Thamboo John Danaraj (1914-1996)</h1>
<h2 class="text-center"><em>The man who founded Malaysia’s first teaching hospital</em></h2>
<div class="thumbnail"><img src="http://whitecoatbites.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Prof-T.J.-Danaraj-Briefing.jpg">
<div class="caption text-center">Commonwealth Medical Association Council members being briefed by Datuk Professor T.J. Danaraj, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, on the Medical Centre. Image source: <a href="http://ummemory.um.edu.my/ummemory/index.php/items/show/5731" target="_blank">UM Memory</a> (accessed on 18 April 2017)</div>
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<h3>Here's a timeline of Dr. Thamboo John Danaraj's life, dedicated to medical education in Malaysia:</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>1914</strong> - Born in Ipoh, Perak.</li>
<li><strong>1929</strong> - Finished attending the Anglo Chinese Boys’ School when he was 15 years old.</li>
<li><strong>1930</strong> - Taught at the Teluk Anson Methodist Boys’ School in Perak as he was too young for medical school admission.</li>
<li><strong>1932</strong> - Started attending the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. Donated blood to earn his tuition fees and books. Suspended for a term during his 4th year in medical school for not being able to pay the fees.</li> <li><strong>1938</strong> - Became one of the two students (among 20) who graduated within the minimum period of six years. Worked at the pathology department of the General Hospital in Singapore to receive a monthly salary of $75.</li>
<li><strong>1941</strong> - Served as a medical officer in Butterworth Hospital, Penang.</li>
<li><strong>1946</strong> - Joined the teaching staff of the King Edward College of Medicine, which in 1949 became the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Malaya in Singapore.</li> <li><strong>1960</strong> - Appointed as the Dean of the Faculty. Introduced postgraduate medical education, made changes in the curriculum and increased the intake of students to produce more doctors sorely needed in the country.</li>
<li><strong>1962</strong> - Newly independent Malaysia decided to set up its own medical school as the country was facing an acute shortage of doctors. He accepted the appointment as Foundation Dean, proposed that the Medical Faculty should have its own hospital. He wanted the medical students to have the best possible environment to train to be good competent doctors. Started leading the construction of University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC).</li>
<li><strong>1963</strong> - Construction of the faculty building began in July. Admitted the first batch of 40 students into the premedical year to be taught basic sciences in the Faculty of Science while the planning, building and staffing for the new Faculty was going on simultaneously. He worked hard and supervised every detail to see that the building was completed according to schedule.</li>
<li><strong>1965</strong> - The Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya was officially opened.</li>
<li><strong>1968</strong> - Paediatric, Maternity and Rehabilitation Units of UMMC which became functional in March. On 5th August 1968, the University Hospital was officially opened by the Malaysian King.</li>
<li><strong>1969</strong> - The first batch of medical students graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Subsequent batches achieved 100% passes in the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) examinations worldwide. (The ECFMG assesses the readiness of international medical graduates to enter residency or fellowship programmes in the United States that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.)</li>
<li><strong>1975</strong> - Conferred the title of Emeritus Professor upon his retirement as Dean of the Medical Faculty, University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. Continued to teach and serve at the university hospital as an honorary consultant.</li>
<li><strong>1977</strong> - Appointed as the Advisor to the Dean and Professor of Medicine with the invitation of Dr Abdullah Basalamah, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Left for Jeddah where he spent three years assisting in setting up the curriculum, advising in the Master Plan of the new Health Sciences Centre, while teaching and training the students in their clinical years.</li>
<li><strong>1980</strong> - Returned to Malaysia and continued teaching the students on an honorary basis.</li>
<li><strong>1989</strong> - Became the first receiver of the joint medal of the Royal College of Physicians of London and the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, in recognition of his record in research and his encouragement of research activities.</li>
<li><strong>1992</strong> - Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Progressed from having trouble walking to using a cane, then a walker, and finally, a wheelchair.</li>
<li><strong>1993</strong> - Stopped teaching.</li>
<li><strong>1996</strong> - Passed away at the age of 82, on March 19.</li>
</ul>
<div class="thumbnail"><img src="http://whitecoatbites.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/T.J.-Danaraj.jpg">
<div class="caption text-center">T.J. Danaraj - Doctor and Teacher Extraordinaire, a book written by Prof. Dr. Wong Hee Ong, his wife. Image source: <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=12834117216&cm_sp=collections-_-4jPkyg1sHunXN8PH9dCO0J_item_1_20-_-bdp" target="_blank">Abebooks.com</a></div>
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<h3>In his memory:</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>T.J. Danaraj Medical Library of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya</strong> was named after him on May 5, 2005 in memory of Tan Sri Datuk Emeritus Professor T.J. Danaraj, who was responsible for the setting up of the Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital (now known as University of Malaya Medical Centre).</li>
<li><strong>T.J. Danaraj Auditorium, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya</strong> was launched in 2013 in memory of Tan Sri Datuk Emeritus Professor T.J. Danaraj. The Inaugural T. J. Danaraj Oration was held on June 10, 2013 in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Orator: Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dr Hj Mohd Ismail Merican - "Dancing with My Patient: Recipe for Perfection".</li>
<blockquote>
<p>“I ask for no honour. To see my students achieve professional and academic distinction is honour enough... </br>I have had a deep desire to help, to do something, to build. If I have succeeded a little, it is through good fortune and the cooperation of many.
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On my tombstone you can say, <strong>‘He tried’</strong>. And if you are generous, you might add the words, <strong>‘very hard’</strong>.”</p>
<footer><cite>Emeritus Prof Dr. T. J. Danaraj, 1977</cite></footer>
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<blockquote>
<p>"His wife Prof HO Wong reported that once he was frustrated and upset by a group of students and returned home disappointed. </br></br>The next morning she saw him dressing up and asked.. “Where are you going?”, to which he replied <strong>“To TEACH of course!”</strong>. This is a man whose life is teaching and students."</p>
<footer><cite>Prof Dr Wong Yin Onn, on his <a href="https://tjdanaraj.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">blog</a> dedicated to remember Prof T.J. Danaraj</cite></footer>
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<h4>If you're interested to know more about Prof T. J. Danaraj, you can read more below:</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/books/news/2012/05/01/testament-to-tj/" target="_blank">Testament to TJ</a>, on The Star Online</li>
<li><a href="https://tjdanaraj.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">Prof TJ Danaraj and Medical Education</a>, on <i>We stand on the shoulders of Giants - to the memory of Prof T J Danaraj</i>, a blog by Prof Dr Yin Onn Wong, dedicated to remember Prof T.J. Danaraj</li>
<li><a href="http://www.acadmed.org.my/newsmaster.cfm?&action=view&menuid=3&retrieveid=49#LaunchingoftheTJDanarajBookDoctorandTeacherExtraordinaire" target="_blank">Launching of the T J Danaraj Book - Doctor and Teacher Extraordinaire</a>, from Berita Akademi, July 2012 (Vol. 21, No. 2), the official publication of Academy of Medicine of Malaysia</li>
<li><a href="https://app.box.com/s/081eba9fc2d0ca965ddc" target="_blank">A Primer of Clinical Diagnosis & A Tribute to Emeritus Professor TJ Danaraj</a>, an ebook written by Prof Dr Wong Yin Onn, compiling some classic and instructive clinical cases which were posted in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/179465178830655/" target="_blank">Aequanimitas Facebook Group</a>’s TJ Danaraj Month.
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<p>Edited and coded by <a href="https://twitter.com/jenne_tan" target="_blank">Yin Zhien Tan (Jenne)</a>.</p>
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