Background information and History
The Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (MSGH) was registered as a society with the Registrar of Societies Malaysia on 24th May 1994. The Society is administered by an Executive Committee chaired by the President and assisted by President-Elect, Immediate Past President, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Five Executive Committee Members. All office bearers were elected on a yearly basis at the annual general meeting until 2013 when the term of office bearers was extended to two years.
The first international meeting organised by the MSGH was in collaboration with the College of Surgeons Malaysia which took place in July 1996. Aptly named ‘The Stomach 96’, the meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, was the brainchild of Professor Dato’ Dr P Kandasami as the organising chairman and the hard work of the late Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Goh Khean Lee as the scientific chairman. It involved 14 international faculty who provided lectures and special workshops during the four-day event. In July 1997, the MSGH in collaboration with Penang Medical Society and the British Society of Gastroenterology organized the Penang International Teaching Course in Gastroenterology. Subsequently, in 1998, another successful international meeting “The 2nd Western Pacific Helicobacter Congress” was held. Following the success of these meetings, the MSGH embarked on larger annual scientific meetings with participation of a sizable international faculty. In 1999, it was named ‘Gastroenterology’, however subsequently from the year 2000 onwards, the MSGH decided to name its annual meetings as ‘GUT’ as it is fondly known until now. The meetings have grown from strength to strength and have been held in many cities in both West and East Malaysia.
In Malaysia, therapeutic endoscopy also developed rapidly at the turn of 1980s. Basic endoscopic procedures were then well established and ERCPs were considered as the pinnacle of therapeutic endoscopic procedures. Live endoscopy was highly sought after at that time and not many centres in the world could organise such workshops. Hence in 1993, University of Malaya in collaboration with the MSGH organised our first live workshop, named ENDOSCOPY. Subsequently, this became an annual live endoscopy event held at the University Malaya Medical Centre. It also incorporated a series of Distinguished Lectures to honour outstanding leading endoscopists in the world. Throughout the years, the event expanded and incorporated sessions such as Young Consultant–GI Fellows Forum as well as a separate workshop for GIAs. The MSGH also collaborated with Ministry of Health Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sabah to have regular clinical meeting which were also hosted live as well as hands-on workshops.
The APDW 2010 was the epoch of our scientific activities and was the biggest and most successful international meeting we have ever organised. It was held from 19th to 22nd September 2010 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The meeting attracted a total of 2661 delegates from all around the globe with more than 150 invited faculty. We were again given the opportunity to hold the second APDW 2020 in Malaysia, unfortunately it had to be postponed due to the pandemic. In the following year the APDW 2021 themed ‘Vision of Excellence in Digestive Disorders and Science’ was successfully held, completely virtual in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 19th to 22nd August 2021. About 2340 participants from more than 60 countries were in attendance at a total of 453 lectures, delivered by prominent speakers worldwide.
The MSGH recognised the need for continuous teaching and training in gastroenterology, hence it has supported the Malaysian Combined National GI Training Board as well as the GI Assistant Training Board. After 26 years, under the leadership of eminent presidents, the MSGH aims to grow and to continue to stay relevant and serve the needs of its membership and the whole Gastroenterology and Hepatology fraternity in the country.
Society Contact Information
Address: Unit 3.8, Level 3, Medical Academies Malaysia Building, No. 5, Jalan Kepimpinan P8H, Presint 8, 62250 Putrajaya, Malaysia
Contact Person: Ms Molly Kong
Tel no./Fax no./Email address: 603 8996 0700 / 603-8996 4700 /
secretariat@msgh.org.my