Cochrane Malaysia’s awards for outstanding contribution of volunteer translators and editors to the Malay translation project 2024

Cochrane Malaysia is pleased to announce the recipients of Certificate of Recognition for Malay translations completed between January and December 2024

The year 2024, TEN years after its launch in 2015, continued to be a productive year for Cochrane Malay Translation. In 2024 we achieved another milestone by Publishing our 4678th 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 - 12 editors and 7 translators for their outstanding work. Twelve of the award recipients were also 2023 recipients.

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

. Professor Dr Noorliza Mastura Ismail

. Associate Professor Dr Norhayati Mohd Noor

. Professor Dr Lai Nai Ming

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

. Dr Rosnani Zakaria

. Dr Mohd Shaharudin Shah Che Hamzah

. Dr Ahmad Filza Ismail

Special Thank you to our editors who have been doing editing for five years!

. Dr Shazlin Shaharudin

. Dr Shaun Lee Wen Huey

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

. Dr Mohamad Masykurin Mafauzy

Special Thank you to our new editors!

. Dr Khaw Loke Tim

. Dr Aishah Ibrahim

. Prof Madya Dr Kamisah Ariffin

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 2024?

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 Kuan Pei Xuan, Digital Health Research & Innovation, Institute for Clinical

Research, National Institutes of Health Malaysia (71 PLS)

“As someone with a love for Bahasa Malaysia since school days, I am grateful to have

joined the Cochrane Volunteer Translation community starting last year. Being trained

in clinical trials with a background as a medical doctor and practicing in this field for

the past decade has inspired me to contribute further to the R&D field. I truly enjoy

the art of translation and am glad to be able to contribute to the translation

community by disseminating knowledge for a better understanding of reviews in our

national language. Thank you for the opportunity, Cochrane Malaysia!”

SILVER TRANSLATOR

Dr Nathanael Lee Yong Sheng, Department of Internal Medicine and Infection Control Unit, Hospital Seberang Jaya (38 PLS)

"What motivates me as a Translator is the opportunity to make evidence-based medicine more accessible to the layperson, in a language which they understand and in a style of nuance and prose which they are familiar with, whilst at the same time indirectly contributing to the continuous evolution of the National Language. This is an invaluable experience for me as a medical officer because I believe that evidence-based medicine is the way forward, and one of the most effective ways to promote this concept is not only by educating physicians, but also by introducing the general public to the tenets of EBM. Serving as a Translator has provided me a rare opportunity to play a more holistic role in patient education - both at the bedside and via Cochrane Malaysia."

Wong Chun Hoong, Pharmacist, Hospital Kuala Lumpur (35 PLS)

"I hope that those translations can help more people to understand and appreciate the essentials of medical science so as to enable themselves to make effective informed decisions. I have been helping Cochrane First Aid and Cochrane Multiple Sclerosis and Rare Disease of the CNS."

BRONZE TRANSLATORS

Dr Syed M Amirfaiz Syed Ali, Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Science) and Master of Science (Clinical Nutrition), Postgraduate Student Kuliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia (25 PLS)

"Thank you for the acknowledgement. I stumbled upon Cochrane Malaysia during my undergraduate study at IMU a few years back and have actively participated in the Malay translation project since 2020. As a postgraduate student, translating the Cochrane Review PLS has indirectly taught me about various health topics while contributing to the Malaysian community. Thank you to the whole team members of Cochrane Malaysia for giving me this opportunity, and lastly, congratulations to Cochrane Malaysia for its 10th Anniversary celebration this year. Cheers."

Dr Nadiatul Azra Ahmad Mazlan, Senior Lecturer, Academic, School of Pharmacy (23 PLS)

“My first year in this initiative, translation can be daunting and new phrases keep you wondering, at the end, hoping the contribution may help some if not all. Having translations to do, it's like - challenges awaiting, but ready to tackle them head-on!"

Amirul Iman Ahmad Rizal, Malaysian Translators Association (20 PLS)

“Thank you for giving me another opportunity to contribute my translation skills with Cochrane.”

Outstanding contribution as both translator and editor.

Dr Khaw Loke Tim (Immunologist) Department of Pathology and

Pharmacology, School of Medicine, (IMU University) (24 PLS)

"I am currently a senior lecturer with IMU University under the Department of Pathology and Pharmacology. While my main focus is education and research, translating as well as editing for Cochrane (current focus) has provide me the avenues to grow in many positive ways.First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Teguh, Ms. Nila and Cochrane Malaysia for giving me the opportunity to contribute towards this endeavour as again, I believe that knowledge should be accessible and available to those who seek to benefit from it.I would like to thank my Department and the School for being understanding and supportive of my efforts in interpretating and editing.Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for motivating me to strive as much as I can towards a better future.”

GOLD EDITORS

Dr Shazlin Shaharudin, Lecturer in Exercise & Sports Science, Biomechanics & Movement Science. Universiti Sains Malaysia (85 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 Shaun Lee, Pharmacist, Monash University Malaysia (50 PLS)

“I truly believe that Cochrane is a global organisation, and through this effort, I hope that I can share science with the community and make a difference."

SILVER EDITORS

Professor Dr Noorliza Mastura Ismail, HOD Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry,

Manipal University College Malaysia (42 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 Mohd Shaharudin Shah Che Hamzah, Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (39 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 Lai Nai Ming, Professor of Paediatrics and Director of Clinical Campus, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University Malaysia (35 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".

BRONZE EDITORS

Associate Professor Datin Dr Norhayati Mohd Noor, Public Health Physician (Family Health), School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Site Coordinate for USM: an affiliate of Cochrane Malaysia (30 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.”

Assoc Prof Dr Rosnani Zakaria, Family Medicine Specialist/Medical Lecturer, Department of Family Medicine, Universiti Sains Malaysia (30 PLS)

" Community education is our family medicine niche area. Started as editor since 2016 for Plain Language Summary.”

Dr Mohamad Masykurin Mafauzy, Emergency Physician and a Lecturer at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (27PLS)

“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”.

Dr Siti Aishah Ibrahim, University of Manchester (23 PLS)

"Extremely grateful for the opportunity to edit the translated reviews this year. Not only did it open my eyes to different writing styles, but it deepened my understanding of certain subject areas too. It has been a journey of personal growth with Cochrane Malaysia, I look forward to another rewarding year!"

Dr Ahmad Filza Ismail, Medical Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, Manager, Strategic Business Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia (21 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.”

Prof Madya Dr Kamisah Ariffin, Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang (20 PLS)

“I joined the Cochrane Malaysia Translation Initiative to help spread the word

medical and health information to the public in simple language. The information availability on this platform can help individuals understand the treatment opportunities available for the well-being of their lives.”