KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has expressed his congratulations to Professor Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman for being named the ‘Tokoh Akademik Negara’ (National Academic Figure) for 2023.

According to a post on Istana Negara’s Instagram, His Majesty expressed his joy and pride and described the award as recognition for Dr Adeeba as one of the high achievers in this country and on the world stage.

Al-Sultan Abdullah described the award as a recognition of her hard work, achievements and contributions to the field of medicine, infectious disease research and medical advocacy in Malaysia and on the international stage.

“His Majesty congratulated Professor Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman and wished her continued success,” the posting said.

Dr Adeeba received the main award at the 15th National Academic Awards (AAN15) ceremony last Tuesday, which was presented by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

With over 30 years of experience, Dr Adeeba is a national infectious disease expert; a renowned scholar in medicine and infectious disease research and the first Malaysian appointed as Commissioner of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

Dr Adeeba was also appointed as a member of the Science Council of the World Health Organisation (WHO) where she works hand in hand with leading medical and health experts at an international level in 2021 besides being the first Asian to be appointed as the President of the International AIDS Society.

When the country was faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Adeeba, who is also the chairman of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation, was one of the heroes behind the scenes who had great responsibilities as a government consultant and Head of the Task Force on Controlling Covid-19 to curb the spread of the deadly pandemic.

In a separate message, Al-Sultan Abdullah also congratulated Helen Selvanathan for being the first Malaysian to be awarded the Women in Tech Asia Pacific Best Ally Award for 2022, last Tuesday.

“May you be blessed with continued success,” the posting read.

The Women in Tech Asia Pacific Best Ally Award for 2022 is a tribute to extraordinary women, initiatives and organisations that are shaping the future of technology and inspiring the next generation.

Helen, who is involved in information technology, is a member of the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs Malaysia (NAWEM) and CEO of Action Network. — Bernama