I had not intended to join the Department of Medicine at Universiti Malaya. After completing a clinical fellowship training in gastroenterology in Leeds, England, in 2003, I had naively thought that I could get a post in the Health Ministry upon returning to Malaysia.
A chance encounter and brief placement stint with Prof K.L. Goh in 2001 subsequently led to a job offer as a lecturer at Universiti Malaya in 2003 – which was the only job offer I obtained at the time. If I sound unhappy for this opportunity back then, it was due to the impression I had of academic gastroenterology, from my experience in England. But all that changed after working at the Department of Medicine at UM, and with Prof Goh.
