A Conversation with Dato Siti Mazenah Saat

Lt to R Zalina Ismail, Wan Asim Wan Adnan, Dato Siti Mazenah Saat

Earlier we reconnected with Dato’ Siti Mazenah bt Saat via a telephone interview and the post can be viewed at https://pyramidtales.info/2022/04/05/reconnecting-with-dato-siti-mazenah/. Similarly there was a reconnection with Raja Dato Fuziah which can be viewed here https://pyramidtales.info/2022/03/29/reconnecting-with-yam-raja-dato-fuziah/

We had a second opportunity to talk to Dato Siti Mazenah Saat. On 25^th May 2022,  Wan Aasim and Zalina were in Penang to attend their daughter’s convocation. After the ceremony they called up Dato Siti Mazenah Saat and she very generously invited them to her house which is next to USM at Minden Heights. She has a lovely home and has equally lovely cats. She served Wan Asim and Zalina the most delicious Mee Udang that they had ever tasted.  

Dato Siti Mazenah is a very active lady who is still very much involved in community work. She is very interested in current affairs and it certainly was a pleasure to talk to her. Dato Siti Mazenah welcomes visitors and would love to talk to anyone of us. Just send her a Whatsapp message first and tell her who you are.  Who knows….. if you are as lucky as they were, you will be able to taste the best ever Mee Udang in Penang.

How are we linked to Dato Siti Mazenah?

University education in Malaysia expanded dramatically during the First Malaysia Plan [1966-70 ]. Not only did the University of Malaya more than double its enrolment, two other Universities, UKM and USM were also established. However, given the short period over which such expansion took place, the Universities were unable to accommodate the increased enrolment and did not have sufficient facilities or instructors to provide for the desired student intakes. Further, science and technology enrolments lagged behind those in arts and humanities.

The first batch of 61 doctors graduated from the Medical Faculty at UM in 1969 but this was clearly inadequate.  The most fundamental problem was the imbalance in the availability of health and medical services between the urban and rural areas, as well as between West and East Malaysia. There was also an imbalance between the bumiputra and non bumiputra in terms of opportunities to study Medicine, Dentistry or Pharmacy.

That imbalance came to a peak on May 13, 1969. There was an outburst of racial conflict that showed clearly an area of weakness which undermined the very foundations of our nation. We were children then, but we were to play an important role in restoring the balance of our country.

Despite the improvements in training of medical, dental and pharmacy personnel, this was clearly not enough, and it was at this time that a large number of students were sent to study medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, first in Indonesia and then in Egypt. This far sighted programme was spearheaded by the Public Service Department under the able hands of Dato Siti Mazenah Saat and by the MARA Scholarship Division via Raja Dato Fuziah Raja Tun Uda.

So this is how we became linked to Dato Siti Mazenah. JPA scholars will certainly be familiar with Dato Siti Mazenah. She gave us the opportunity to become part of the National Agenda. At that time, we were fresh out of school. Many of us had little interest in national issues. Certainly we were excited to be given the opportunity to learn medicine, dentistry or pharmacy. We were excited at the prospect of visiting another country, even the thought of flying in a plane was exciting. The national agenda was far from our minds. Gradually, it dawned on us that we were part of a bigger plan for Malaysia.

Did we help shape the New Economic Policy?

Actually at that time, we were part of the Second Malaysia Plan [1971 – 1976] representing a new strategy in which the national priorities were re-ordered and efforts intensified to deal with the economic and social problems confronting the country.

Yes, we were part of the two-pronged New Economic Policy for development:

1. to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty
2. to restructure Malaysian society to correct racial economic imbalance

This included policies and programmes designed to raise the living standards of the low-income groups including health and medical services and improved educational opportunities. We were part of that plan.

Despite the achievements under the Second Malaysia Plan two major problems still remain: inequitable distribution of medical and health infrastructure among States and regions, and inadequacy of such facilities and personnel particularly in the rural areas. The need to provide better quality medical and health services and adequate coverage of the rural population was imperative.

Again here, we should be proud to say that we all played a direct role in the Third Malaysia Plan. We helped expand medical and health services, we played a role in community health and we were the educators in Malaysian Universities. We also had a visible presence in the private sector. In each of these areas, we were the experts and the specialists and we had a role in restructuring the socioeconomic system of the country and making health and medical services accessible to the community.