In 19th century Singapore, medical care was available mainly to the British military and officials, European merchants and seamen, sepoys and the local police, while the rest of the population relied on their traditional medicines practised by sinsehs (traditional Chinese doctors) for the Chinese and bomohs (Malay shamans) for the Malays.[1] The first doctors in Singapore came from Britain and India; subsequently the government sent qualified locals to Madras Medical College in India annually from 1870 to be trained as assistant surgeons.[2]
In 1890, an attempt to establish a medical school in Singapore was made. After arrangements had been made by Principal Civil Medical Officer Max Simon to receive students, only two pupils qualified for the course in 1891[3] resulting in its cancellation.[4] In September 1904, the idea was broached again by merchant Tan Jiak Kim who sent a petition to the governor to set up a medical school in Singapore to train qualified locals as assistant surgeons or general practitioners.[5] The petition was signed by prominent Chinese leaders and other communities in Singapore.[6]
The government set a condition that if $71,000 could be raised for the initial expenditure of purchasing equipment, altering buildings and endowment, they would approach the legislative council to secure payment for staff and maintenance costs.[7] Over $87,000 was raised by the Chinese and other communities.[8] Hence, the medical school began in a renovated women’s mental asylum at the Sepoy Lines, near the General Hospital, and was named “The Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School”.[9]
The school was officially opened by Governor Sir John Anderson on 28 September 1905, although it had started operations earlier on 3 July. According to Dr Freer, principal of the school, the postponement was to ensure that most of the necessary equipment had been installed and that the school was in an almost full working state for the governor to declare it open.[10]
In 1913, the school was renamed “King Edward VII Medical School”,[11] and changed once again in 1921 to “King Edward VII College of Medicine”.[12]
References
1. Lee, Y. K., & Ong, S. H. (Eds.) (1992). History of College of Medicine Building, medical education and medical services in Singapore, 1819–1900 (p. 1). Singapore: Annals, Academy of Medicine. Call no.: RSING 610.7115957 HIS
2. Lee & Ong, 1992, p. 3.
3. Lee, E., & Tan, T. Y. (1996). Beyond degrees: The making of the National University of Singapore (p. 26). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Call no.: RSING 378.5957 LEE
4. Lee & Ong, 1992, p. 4.
5. Government medical school for Malaya. (1905, September 29). The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884–1942), p. 3. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. History of King Edward VII Medical College. (1937, February 19). The Straits Times, p. 16. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Legislative Council. (1905, April 15). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
8. Lee & Ong, 1992, p. 4.
9. Lee, & Tan, 1996, p. 26.
10. The medical school. (1905, September 29). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
11. Legislative Council: The Medical School. (1913, October 4). The Straits Times, p. 9; Legislative Council. (1913, November 1). The Straits Times, p. 10. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
12. Untitled. (1921, July 30). The Straits Times, p. 8; Social and personal. (1921, August 30). The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
The information in this article is valid as at Feb 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.