Fact-finding mission: A delegation consisting of Dr Wu’s descendants and scholars visiting the Penang-born epidemiologist’s clinic at Jalan Sultan Idris Shah in Ipoh.
IPOH: He invented the face mask which saved countless lives and now his descendants, who know little about his later years, seek to unmask the man that he was.
“We want to find out more about what he did and his life in Ipoh,” said Huang Jiankun, who is the grandson of prominent Penang-born epidemiologist Dr Wu Lien-Teh (pic).
Huang, 77, is from China. He is here on a mission to unearth details about Dr Wu’s days in Ipoh.
Little is known about his grandfather’s life in this former tin mining town and they hoped to learn more about it, he said.
Dr Wu, he said, did not have any relatives or descendants in Ipoh, which made it difficult to get additional information about his life.
“We know that he had a family here and opened a clinic on Brewster Road (Jalan Sultan Idris Shah) between 1937 and 1960.
“We believe he may also have another clinic here as well, and we hope to learn more about it,” he told reporters during a brunch meeting held by Perak MCA yesterday.
The medical face mask invented by Dr Wu in 1910 evolved into the present-day N95 respirator.
Dr Wu, who died at the age of 80 in Penang in 1960, was the first and only Malaysian to be nominated for a Nobel Prize in medicine in 1935.
He had also spent about 30 years of his life in China, where he received an invitation to work there.
When Japanese soldiers advanced into China in 1937, Wu returned to then Malaya.
Yesterday, his grandson said that a 16-member delegation from China, consisting of family members and scholars, is in Malaysia for the mission.
“The information we gathered will be put on record back in China.
“We will be grateful if those with information about Dr Wu can pass it on to Perak MCA,” Huang said.
He said the delegation had visited Penang earlier, where they met with representatives of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society before their trip to Ipoh.
“We will visit several locations in Ipoh, including his former clinic and a road that was named after him,” he said.
He said there would also be a launch of Dr Wu’s biography, which had been translated into Bahasa Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.
Huang said their trip to Malaysia was also in conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China.
“Dr Wu sort of symbolises ties between both countries, having done a lot for our country.
“These included his role in ending the pneumonic plague epidemic in Manchuria, China. He also helped to set up several hospitals in our country,” he said.
Among those present at yesterday’s meeting were state MCA vice-chairman Tony Khoo, Ipoh Barat MCA chairman Dr Cheng Wei Yee, and state MCA executive secretary Wong Chin Ho.
Huang also presented a copy of Dr Wu’s biography to Perak MCA chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, which was received by Khoo.
