GEORGETOWN: A former engineer, who spent decades quietly nursing a childhood dream, has made history as one of the oldest people in Malaysia to earn a medical degree.
At 57, Dr Ng Jet Kwan, fondly known as Uncle Jet, became Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) oldest Doctor of Medicine graduate when he walked across the stage at the institution’s 63rd convocation ceremony recently.
For the Batu Pahat-born father of two, the moment was the culmination of a dream he had nurtured since he was a boy.
"I always wanted to be a doctor, but opportunities were very limited in the early 1990s. Only four public universities offered medicine then, and competition was incredibly tough.
"My parents were hawkers, and we were not well off, so I pursued engineering instead. But the dream of becoming a doctor never faded," he said in a recent interview.
He was also inspired by someone he had admired since childhood – former MCA president Tan Sri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who was once his family doctor.
He added that he admired how Dr Chua, also from Batu Pahat, treated his patients.
Dr Ng, who later built a career in engineering before studying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Singapore from 2012 to 2017, said he finally took the leap in 2021 when both his children had completed their studies.
He enrolled in USM at the age of 51 through the USM+1 pathway, encouraged by his wife Jasmine Lim, 57.
Dr Ng shared that his daughter Ng Zhu Chin, 29, is now a resident doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, while his son Ng Zhu Han, 25, practises law in Australia.
He said studying medicine later in life came with challenges, including adapting to the Kelantanese dialect when he first arrived at USM’s campus in Kubang Kerian.
"At the start, understanding the dialect was tough. But Kelantanese people are friendly, and I adapted quickly.
"I am also older than some of my lecturers, but the age gap never stood in the way. In fact, a few were about my age, and we could have relaxed discussions," he said, adding that he was close to his classmates and completed his studies on schedule.
Dr Ng also expressed appreciation to USM’s School of Medical Sciences, especially his mentor, Prof Datuk Dr Jafri Malin Abdullah, whom he credited for guiding him through the programme.
He also thanked the Health Ministry for allowing older students to pursue medicine under existing policies.
Upon graduation, Dr Ng has now begun his housemanship in general surgery at Hospital Pakar USM.
He hopes to open his own clinic after completing his training and obtaining the necessary licence to practice.
