Cochrane Malaysia’s awards for outstanding contribution of volunteer translators and editors to the Malay translation project 2023

Cochrane Malaysia is pleased to announce the recipients of Certificate of Recognition for Malay translations completed between January and December 2023

The year 2023, 9 years after its launch in 2015, continued to be a productive year for Cochrane Malay Translation. In 2023 we achieved another milestone by Publishing our 4292th Malay Plain Language Summary. 

These achievements would have been impossible without the generous contribution of our translators and editors all of whom work on voluntary basis. Our volunteers are all healthcare students or practitioners and come from over 10 institutions in Malaysia and abroad.

 

It is almost impossible to thank these volunteers for their work. So as a form of recognition we issue Certificates of Recognition to our high output translators and editors on an annual basis. This year we award - 10 editors and 9 translators for their outstanding work. Fifteen of the award recipients were also 2022 recipients. 

 

Special Thank you to four of our editors who have been doing editing for nine years! 

  .  Professor Dr Noorliza Mastura Ismail
  .  Associate Professor Dr Tuan Hairulnizam Tuan Kamauzaman
  .  Associate Professor Dr Norhayati Mohd Noor
  .  Professor Dr Lai Nai Ming

Special Thank you to three of our editors who have been doing editing for eight years! 

They are
  .  Dr Rosnani Zakaria
  .  Dr Mohd Shaharudin Shah Che Hamzah
  .  Dr Ahmad Filza Ismail

Special Thank you to two of our editors who have been doing editing for four years! 

They are
  .  Dr Shazlin Shaharudin
  .  Dr Shaun Lee Wen Huey

Special Thank you to our editor who have been doing editing for two years! 

 .  Dr Mohamad Masykurin Mafauzy
 
What are the criteria for receiving a certificate?
There are 3 categories of recognition with editors and translators receiving separate recognition:
    o   Bronze award for completing or editing more than 20 translations in a year
    o   Silver award for completing or editing 35 translations in a year
    o   Gold award  for completing or editing 50 translations in a year
 
Who are the recipients of certificates for 2023?
They come from various medical and health institutions throughout Malaysia and abroad. For 2023 all our awardees are Medical and Dental Doctors or Pharmacists.  We know that their work is worthwhile because we are very happy to note that their translations were accessed over 1 million times over the past year. The translators and editors shared their thoughts on getting involved with Malay translation.

“Our translators thank us for the opportunity but we truly want to thank our translators!”      

GOLD TRANSLATORS

Dr Aishah IbrahimPhD Candidate, University of Warwick, UK (57 PLS)
“During the pandemic, I started volunteering for Cochrane as a way of giving back and have truly enjoyed translating reviews to Malay language. Living abroad, Cochrane provides me with a platform to utilise my native language and connect with Malaysian culture. This opportunity also allows me to gain knowledge on a wide range of health topics during my free time. I am immensely proud to be a part of this community, thank you Cochrane Malaysia!” 

Dr. Khaw Loke Tim ( Immunologist) Department of Pathology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, International Medical University (53 PLS)                                                                        "For me, information should be available to all and I am happy to contribute to that.”"

Dr Nathanael Lee Yong Sheng, Department of Internal Medicine and Infection Control Unit, Hospital Seberang Jaya  (52 PLS )
I would describe myself as a bit of an eccentric doctor - hotly passionate about internal medicine and her sophisticated deductions and algorithms, but also totally get high on handling critically ill patients and absolutely addicted to the adrenaline rush of acute medicine and the need to sate my curiosity for the cutting edges of medicine, in particular the fields of critical care and infectious diseases. I have always had an intense love for languages - and speaking Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, English and Hokkien (my Mandarin is terrible by the way) at home has not only blessed me with a chance of a wider marriage market and a versatility in making sweet talk when the situation calls for it, but it has also been opened a (truly unexpected) window of opportunity to contribute to the R&D field in Malaysia. I happened to come across the Cochrane Malay translation project about 5 years ago, and after reading through the preliminary translations back then, I felt I owed my beloved nation a duty to make available the gist of cutting edge medicine in the national tongue, in a manner easy on the ear and pleasant on the eyes (and of course, there is also the golden chance to coin a whole load of neologisms to capture concepts once foreign to the Malay language). As a Malaysian and JPA scholar, I deemed it my bounden duty as a physician-scholar to make the knowledge of modern medicine openly available to the masses in the eclectic language that has served as the Bahasa Penyatu, (unifying language), of this multifaceted nation from the day of her Independence. I draw inspiration and motivation from the lives, works and beliefs of William Tyndale and John Wyclif, brave translators who believed in making so-called elite knowledge openly available to all Man, and for that cause eventually paid with their lives. Although I face not a baptism of fire or blood in this modern-day endeavour unlike those courageous men, I pray and hope that my humble and imperfect work in the Malay translation project has in at least a small measure, advanced medical literacy in this nation and allowed the Common Man a chance to read for himself evidence-based medicine in familiar Malay prose and nuance.

SILVER TRANSLATORS

Dr Zhi Kuan Saw, Dental Surgery, Ministry of health (38 PLS)
As a dental officer serving in the government sector, my professional journey has been dedicated to oral health and patient care. I find immense motivation in empowering individuals through accessible medical information. Being involved in the Cochrane Malay translation project allows me to combine my passion for dentistry with the broader goal of ensuring that crucial medical knowledge reaches Malaysian communities, thereby contributing to improved healthcare access and understanding. 

BRONZE TRANSLATORS

Dr Wan Anisa Hanim, Kok Lanas Dental Clinic. (31 PLS)
I joined Cochrane for translation in 2022, and I’m pleased to help the country by improving public access to medical and health information in our native language. By translating into Malay, I aim to encourage more Malaysians to become part of our translation community.

Lee Pei Yee,  Pharmacist from Hospital Keningau, Sabah (26 PLS)

“I have been a Cochrane Malay Translator for almost 6 years, starting as a university student. Despite being busy with my full time job as a hospital pharmacist, I will spend some of my  free time to be involved in the Cochrane Malay translation project. I believe that this is a good platform to share reliable medical information using our National language to healthcare professionals and public. I enjoy the translation process as it broadens my knowledge and helps to improve Malaysia’s healthcare advancement.”

Dr Siti Sarah Fazalul Rahiman; Pharmacist and Lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang; Certified Translator of Malaysian Translator Association (23 PLS)

“I joined the Cochrane Malay Translator team in 2021 while pursuing my PPM-DBP Professional Translation Diploma to upskill my translation abilities. As a pharmacist by profession, it is an honour to be part of the Cochrane Malaysia Translation Initiative as this platform provides an effective means to communicate and disseminate medical and health information to a wider audience, especially the Malay language native speakers, in a simpler and jargon-free approach. It also allows me to keep track of the latest findings in the medical and health fields indirectly. Indeed, translating Cochrane evidence sparks joy in me, and I look forward to continuing this volunteer work as part of my little contribution to the community.

Dr Patricia Ponniah, Seremban Dental Clinic (22 PLS)

“I started translating for Cochrane around the time of the pandemic, and I have thoroughly enjoyed making vital evidence-based healthcare knowledge accessible to Malay-speaking communities. I sincerely believe that the work we are doing is helping to empower individuals to make informed decisions for their health and wellbeing. Thank you Cochrane for this opportunity”

Amirul Iman Ahmad Rizal, Malaysian Translators Association (20 PLS)
“Thank you for giving me another opportunity to contribute my translation skills with Cochrane.”

GOLD EDITORS

Dr Shazlin Shaharudin, Lecturer in Exercise & Sports Science, Biomechanics & Movement Science. Universiti Sains Malaysia (127 PLS) 
“Thank you to Cochrane Malaysia for the opportunity to be involved in this translation initiative. With this effort, I hope Malaysians will have better access to accurate and updated information regarding medical practices.”

Professor Dr Noorliza Mastura Ismail, HOD Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Manipal University College Malaysia (60 PLS)
“I have been involved in Cochrane Translation and Editing since 2016. I honestly enjoy doing it and I know it has a clear purpose to share the science with all levels of the community. I strongly believe what Cochrane stands for and I am making a difference.” 

Dr Norhayati Mohd Noor, Associate Professor, Public Health Physician (Family Health), School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Site Coordinate for USM: an affiliate of Cochrane Malaysia (51 PLS)
The Malay Cochrane translation will be immensely beneficial, significantly extending its reach to a broader audience within the non-English speaking community. This initiative may overcome language barriers, making crucial information accessible to a wider audience.

SILVER EDITORS

Associate Professor Shaun Lee Wen Huey, Pharmacist, Monash University Malaysia (39 PLS)
Shaun is a passionate educator and teacher, and is a qualified pharmacist by profession.  He strongly believes that an integrated approach is needed to ensure that the best available evidence is used to design interventions, strategies and policies. Nevertheless, most of these evidences are often published in English using "scientific languages" which can be a barrier to uptake in many populations. As such, he has devoted his time and effort through Cochrane Malaysia to make the availability and accessibility of high-quality, usable evidence into Malay language to ensure these can be implemented and used by the general population”.

Dr Rosnani Zakaria, Lecturer, Department of Family Medicine, Universiti Sains Malaysia (36 PLS)   
" Happy to be involved in this project, my me time"

Dr Mohamad Masykurin Mafauzy, Emergency Physician and a Lecturer at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (36PLS)
“Being an educator, I believe the community should have access to information about diseases and their latest treatment. Cochrane Malay translation project provides a vast opportunity for the community to update themselves with the latest medical information. I enjoyed myself very much in translating articles hoping that it benefits the community ultimately improves our community health”.

BRONZE EDITORS

Dr Mohd Shaharudin Shah Che Hamzah, Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (29 PLS)      
“I am a Senior Lecturer in the Emergency Medicine Department of the School of Medical Sciences of USM and completed my PhD in disaster management specializing in terrorism. I am actively involved in research as principle investigator and managed to secure quite number of grants and publish many articles in local and international journals. I am also actively involved in the Malay translation project for quite number of years. I started to love this job when I got an email of thanks from someone who was very actively using Cochrane articles in his daily work.”                                 

Dr Ahmad Filza Ismail, Medical Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, Manager, Strategic Business Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia (25 PLS) 
“I have been involved in Cochrane Translation (Malay) Project for about few years, yet I have been doing it with great pleasure. Like killing two birds with a stone, while translating, I also learnt new terms especially medical terms in Malay Language. I am really appreciating the opportunity given by Cochrane Malaysia for enabling me to contribute while learning.
Hope the project will continue.”

Dr Lai Nai Ming, Professor of Paediatrics and Director of Clinical Campus, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University Malaysia  (24 PLS)
"The people's heightened awareness of their own health and that of others at this time makes it all the more important to make available high-quality evidence in a locally-accessible form".

Dr Tuan Hairulnizam Tuan  Kamauzaman, Associate Professor, Head of Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, University Sains Malaysia (20 PLS)
I am a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia.I really enjoy working with Cochrane Malaysia editing the Malay language Plain Language Summary of meta-analysis studies. The process seems seamless and I am glad that the result will benefit the public at large.”