Early Beginnings

I would like to share with readers on how the Malaysian Division of International Academy of Pathology was established. As early as 2007 there were rumbles and small discussions on setting up the Malaysian Division each time after we attended IAP meetings organized by country and regional divisions elsewhere in the world.

It was not materialized until after the IAP meeting held in Cape Town in 2012. Three of us; Datuk Dr Norain Karim, Professor Dr Wong Kum Thong and myself had serious conversation on how to have it done. On returning from Cape Town, we went into full gear.

The café where Nor Hayati Othman, Norain Karim and Wong Kum Thong met during the IAP 2012 in Cape Town and discussed the formation of the Malaysian Division.

Formation of IAPMD

A meeting was held on 10th October 2013 in Universiti Sains Malaysia Kubang Kerian campus attended by 12 pathologists.

In this meeting ten interim committee members were elected. They comprised of a good mix of pathologists working in universities, Ministry of Health and private laboratories.

A month later, on 14th November 2013, the Malaysian Division of International Academy of Pathology [IAPMD] was legally registered with the Registry of Societies of Malaysia.

ROS No. PPM-005-03-14112013

Founding Council of IAPMD

Many of the interim council members became full council members when we had our first election in 2014 and subsequently many were re-elected after each term, till this day.

First Annual General Meeting

Our first AGM was graced by the IAP President at that time, Professor Samir Amr.

Minutes of the First Annual General Meeting of the Malaysian Division of the International Academy of Pathology.

Currently there are 291 histopathologists registered as Life and Ordinary members which is about 85% of total histopathologists in the country.

Though still young, the members are active in conducting academic activities, averaging 5–7 activities per year.

The Annual Scientific Meeting is held in different cities in Malaysia and the city where it will be held is announced four years in advance. Pathologists from the state where the city is located will be the responsible organization team for this annual event.

Quality Assurance Programme

On 15th May 2017, another milestone was achieved. We established our own Quality Assurance Program [IAPMDQAP].

The trial run was conducted in 2015. The establishment was under the guidance of Department of Standard Malaysia and we hope to have it internationally recognized by having ISO 17043 accreditation certification.

We started with General Module (two runs per cycle) and on 15th July 2020, we launched the Dermatopathology Module (one run per cycle).

We plan to include Technical Module including immunohistochemistry as well.

The subscribers of this QAP programmes are from Malaysian public, university and private pathology laboratories.

Historic QAP event – IAP QAP seminar with Professor Pongsak and Dr Patravee.

Expanding Academic Activities

A relatively recent academic activity is ‘Weekend with IAPMD Live’, a short discourse on specific topics of histopathology given by Malaysian pathologists who have undergone sub-specialty training in specific areas, given in a relaxed virtual environment.

Besides academic activities, we also have engagement with public, university and school students, educating them on pathology and the role of pathologists in an annual event called National Pathology Day.

IAPMD activities often have joint activities with other societies such as:

• College of Pathologists, Academy of Medicine Malaysia
• WASPaLM – World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
• Malaysian Society of Cytology
• Other local and regional pathology organizations

In 2023, Malaysian Division hosted the 13th Asia Pacific International Academy of Pathology Congress. All these information, activities and more could be viewed on our website.

Major Milestones

Looking Forward

The Malaysian Division of the International Academy of Pathology has grown from a vision discussed among colleagues during an international meeting into a thriving professional organization.

Through education, quality assurance, scientific meetings, professional networking, international collaboration and public engagement, IAPMD continues to advance pathology practice and strengthen the pathology community in Malaysia and beyond.