Vision & Mission Statements

Vision

To provide the highest quality of Palliative Care so as to provide relief from, and prevent pain and suffering
associated with, progressive and life-limiting illnesses.

Mission

Assist in training and education of health professionals in the necessary skills of Palliative Care to provide
relief of suffering that affects patients and their families.

Increase awareness of the needs of those with progressive and life threatening illnesses.

Value life and promote quality of life for all our patients regardless of illness or stage through advocacy,
education and research.

Provide the best possible Palliative Care services to our community based on their needs, and the human
and financial resources available to us.

Hospis Malaysia

PAR T N E R S I N C AR I N G
Hospis Malaysia is a charitable organization that offers professional Palliative Care to patients who are
suffering from life-limiting illness, and who live within Klang Valley. Care extended by Hospis Malaysia
transcends age, gender, culture, religion and social standing and is offered free-of-charge. Located at
Taman Sri Bahtera, Cheras, Hospis Malaysia serves as the base for the operational team, and houses within
it office space, a Daycare Centre, a Quiet Room, a Conference Room, a Resource Centre, a
Counselling Room, a kitchen/pantry and a Volunteers' Room.

Not affiliated with any political, religious, governmental or private groups, Hospis
Malaysia depends greatly on public and corporate support as its' source of funds. Besides donations
received, the numerous fundraising events organised by Hospis Malaysia ensure a steady stream of fund
inflow to enable continuous and effective running of the hospice. Funds received are managed by a team of
council members who act, on a voluntary basis, as trustees of Hospis Malaysia’s funds while full time staff,
headed by the CEO/Medical Director, handle the operational aspects of the hospice.

Over the years, Hospis Malaysia has established itself as a strong advocate for professional Palliative Care
in the country. This recognition is the by-product of its committed involvement in major international Palliative
Care developments, and its close working relationship with the Ministry of Health Malaysia, universities and
clinical partners. Hospis Malaysia's track record as a committed Palliative Care education and training
provider in the country, backed-up by its strong international teaching faculty, has also further reinforced its
position in the field of Palliative Care, both locally and internationally.

Hospis Malaysia also has affiliations with notable international Palliative Care networks which complement
and support its role as a recognised Palliative Care training and education provider in the country. One such
collaboration is with the Oxford International Centre for Palliative Care (OICPC). OICPC is an international
partnership comprising Palliative Care centres and organisations in different countries which provide
Palliative Care services, and actively promote the development of Palliative Care education and training in
their respective countries. OICPC is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee and is based at
Sir Michael Sobell House Hospice, Oxford, which is the designated World Health Organisation (WHO)
Collaborating Centre for Palliative Care.
The other international organisation with which Hospis Malaysia has close working partnership is the Asia
Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN). Dedicated to promoting hospice and Palliative Care
in Asia and the Pacific, APHN acts as a bridge that links all its members who are interested in developing
hospice and Palliative Care programs in the Asia Pacific region.

Hospis Malaysia’s garden area

Glimpses of the Past

A chance meeting at a hospice conference in Singapore in 1989 brought together a group of like-minded
Malaysian doctors, nurses and social workers to pursue the idea of setting up a hospice in Malaysia,
particularly in Kuala Lumpur. These were people who were working with patients with life-limiting illness in
their respective professional capacities, and who were unhappy with the way the patients were being
ignored and viewed by local hospitals and doctors then. It was a time when patients who no longer
responded to treatment were left to their devices to manage their own distressing symptoms. Many did not
even know that such a thing as hospice care existed.

Faced with challenges as such, all that the group had between them to realize their dream was - a strong
desire to help the patients, the use of a conference room at the University Hospital and each others’ homes
where they regularly met to discuss the plan in hand. Fortunately, their network soon widened, and in came
people like Dato’ Dr. Peter Mooney, who was then the Chairman of Assunta Hospital. On his own accord,
Dato’ Dr. Peter Mooney had tried to introduce a Palliative Care unit at Assunta Hospital but to no avail
because most medical professionals then were of the view that end-of-life care was ‘too much of an effort’
for a hospital.

In August 1991, this group of people formed Hospis Malaysia which was to be run by a council headed by
Dato’ Dr. Peter Mooney as the Chairman. Other Council members included Dr. K.K. Wong, Prof. John
Bosco, Puan Sri Chong Eu Ngoh, Tan Sri Lim Leong Seng; members of the founding group such as Dr.
Francis Lopez, Mrs. Margaret Chai and a few others.

Hospis Malaysia's first ‘office’ was a room on the 4 th floor of Assunta Hospital which was assigned for Dato’
Peter Mooney in his capacity as the Director of the hospital. In February 1992, Hospis Malaysia began its
Home Care service in Petaling Jaya and service was extended to cover Kuala Lumpur in September 1992.
The first nurse to start Palliative Home Care service for Hospis Malaysia was Ms Karen Gan, who was
guided by Dr. Francis Lopez and Dr. K.K. Wong, the volunteer doctors who also sat in the council. Later in
the year, a second nurse, Ms Betty Kamala and an administrator, Ms Elizabeth Alfred were appointed, the
latter to oversee the administrative aspects of Hospis Malaysia. In 1992, Hospis Malaysia had 44 patients
registered under its’ care.

In 1996, Hospis Malaysia began the construction works of its own building on a leased land at Taman Sri
Bahtera, Cheras. A full time CEO/Medical Director, Dr. Ednin Hamzah, was appointed in June 1997 in view
of the increasing clinical activities. The following years saw Hospis Malaysia's steady growth in the field of
Palliative Care. More volunteers began joining Hospis Malaysia which enabled the clinical team to expand
its’ service to visit more patients and to cover more areas. The experience that the clinical team was
obtaining created a potential for Hospis Malaysia to confidently set out into Palliative Care training and
education. The first Pallative Care lecture by Hospis Malaysia was in 1997 for a group of medical
undergraduates from Universiti Malaya.

With the completion and launch of its building in 1998 , the idea of starting Professional Palliative Care
workshops for doctors and nurses became feasible. Hence, in 1999, Hospis Malaysia ran its first Palliative
Care Foundation workshop. Where operations and governance were concerned, noteworthy changes that
took place were the commencement of its Day Care activities in 2000, and the reshuffling of Council which
saw our previous Chairman, the late Dato’ Francis Huang, taking over from Dato’ Dr. Peter Mooney in 2001.
In 2002, Hospis Malaysia expanded its training capacity by offering more Palliative Care programs in
collaboration with the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN), thus placing itself more firmly in
the local and international Palliative Care circle as a recognised Palliative Care service and training provider
.
Since the time it began, Hospis Malaysia has attended to thousands of patients in KlangValley, and has
recorded immense growth, both in its capacity as a professional Palliative Care provider, and in its’ staff
strength. From its simple beginnings with one nurse and 2 volunteer doctors, Hospis Malaysia has since
grown into the largest hospice in Malaysia in terms of the number of patients it accepts each year, and which
has a full-time Palliative Care team comprising 9 nurses, 4 doctors, a pharmacist, a clinical psychologist,
and an occupational therapist.

Governance

Hospis Malaysia is company limited by guarantee. It is governed by a Council that comprises 8 volunteer
professionals from the medical, finance, legal, administrative and business circle, and a full-time
CEO/Medical Director. Except for the full-time CEO, none of the other Council members are remunerated.

Headed by the Chairman, the Council members act as trustees of the funds received from the public and the
corporate sector. Policies and strategies for Hospis Malaysia are decided by the Council Members, who also
hold as their responsibility the ensuring that proper accounting records are maintained and timely financial
information is produced. The Council meets regularly to discuss relevant issues.

THE COUNCIL MEMBERS

Dato' Dr Peter Mooney, CHAIRMAN

Dato’ Dr. Peter Mooney (M.A.LLB.LLD) is one

of the inaugural members of the Council. He is
a member of the Faculty of Advocates,
Edinburgh and has had the distinction of
having practised in Scotland, London, Brunei,
Singapore and Malaysia, including Sarawak.
He holds directorships in charitable
organizations such as Yayasan Tan Sri
Dominic Vendargon and Fatimah Hospital in
Ipoh, Perak. He is the former Chairman of
Assunta Hospital, Tun Hussein Onn Eye
Hospital, Tun Tan Cheng Lock College of
Nursing, Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital,
Penang and the Befrienders Kuala Lumpur
Counselling Centre.
Mr. Peter Loh Chee Khen, VICE
CHAIRMAN

Mr. Peter Loh joined the Council in 1997. A

qualified professional accountant, he has
more than 25 years of corporate and tax
experience, both locally and abroad. He has
worked in a public listed company and in
leading accounting firms such as Ernst &
Whinney and Price Waterhouse. He presently
manages his own tax and financial
consultancy firm and is also on the Board of
Yayasan Tan Sri Dominic Vendargon, a
charitable educational organisation.

Mr. Mok Yuen Lok, HON. SECRETARY

Mr Mok Yuen Lok joined the Council in 1997,

and is presently the Honorary Secretary. He
has served on the Finance Committee for 9
years and recently resigned from this
Committee to oversee the Public Relations &
Fundraising Committee. Yuen Lok holds a
Bachelor of Science from HeriotWatt
University (Edinburgh) and qualified as an
accountant under articleship at Ernst &
Whinney. He is presently the Country
Managing Partner of Horwath in Malaysia (an
accounting firm which he co-founded in
1990), Regional Executive Director ( Asia
Pacific ) for Horwath International, and
Chapter Chair of the Young Presidents
Organization, Malaysia Chapter (2006-2007).
His other corporate positions include being the
Audit Committee Chairman for 2 Public Listed
Companies, namely Scomi Marine Bhd
and Goodway Integrated Industries
Bhd. The other charitable organizations where
Yuen Lok has assisted are The Community
Centre for the Deaf, National Stroke
Association of Malaysia, and Shelter Home for
Abused and Neglected Children.

Mr. James Armand Menezes, HON.

TREASURER

Mr. James Armand Menezes joined the

Council in 1996. He is a qualified
accountant and served for 25 years with
Ernst & Whinney (now known as Ernst &
Young) and retired as a Senior Partner in
1990. He holds directorships and plays
advisory roles in companies in Malaysia
and Australia besides doing voluntary
work in other organisations.

Tan Sri Lim Leong Seng, COUNCIL

MEMBER

Tan Sri Lim Leong Seng joined the Council at

its inception in 1991. He is a Certified Public
Accountant (ACCA) and a former Director-
General of the Inland Revenue Board of
Malaysia. He holds directorships in Assunta
Hospital, The Association for the Promotion of
Higher Education in Malaysia and Sri Seronok
Sdn Bhd. He is also on the Board of Sekolah
Menengah Stella Maris, Sekolah Menengah
(Swasta) Genting Highlands, The International
Fiscal Association (Malaysian branch) and
currently serves as the Financial Administrator
of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala
Lumpur.

Dr Ednin Hamzah, COUNCIL MEMBER

Dr. Ednin Hamzah joined the Council in 1997.

He graduated in Medicine from the University
of Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom in
1986. He was trained in General Medicine and
General Practice and worked as a General
Practitioner in Newcastle Upon Tyne until
1997, when he joined Hospis Malaysia. He is
currently also on the Board of International
Association of Hospice and Palliative Care,
the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care
Association, the Malaysian Oncological
Society and the Malaysian Society for the
Study of Pain.

Mrs Linda Phang nee Cheam Swee

Lan, COUNCIL MEMBER

Mrs. Linda Phang joined the Council in 1992.

She received a Masters of Science Degree in
Healthcare Management from the University
of Wales in 1997. She was the former Director
of Operational Services at Assunta Hospital
until 1999 and is currently a Board Member of
the hospital. She now manages a family
business and devotes her free time to social
work and writing.
Ms Gee Siew Hong, COUNCIL
MEMBER

Ms. Gee Siew Hong is also an inaugural

member and joined the Council in 1991. She
qualified as a nurse in 1968 from Huddersfield
Royal Infirmary at Yorkshire, United Kingdom
and worked in Scotland and Australia before
finally returning to Malaysia in 1984. She then
joined Tawakal Hospital, Kuala Lumpur and
worked in the administration and public
relations department for 15 years. She is
currently the Duty Nursing Manager at
Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, Kuala
Lumpur and devotes her free time to social
work