Trailblazing humanitarian Dr Jemilah awarded 2019 ASEAN Prize

BANGKOK, Nov 3 -- The attitude of being in a position to help and not receive help, is what has driven humanitarian and MERCY Malaysia founder Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood to continue contributing towards humanitarian endeavours, despite having been wounded on mission.

The 60-year-old was awarded the 2019 ASEAN Prize today for her contributions towards disaster management and other humanitarian initiatives undertaken in the region.

Dr Jemilah, who is currently Under Secretary-General (Partnerships) at the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is the first Malaysian to be awarded the prize which was introduced last year at the Asean Summit in Singapore. 

"I am grateful for this recognition and honour and hope this award will inspire more Malaysians and ASEAN nationals to join the humanitarian and development aid field," she said, adding that she hoped her efforts would spur more women to follow suit.

Speaking to the Malaysian media after receiving the award from Thailand's Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan o-cha in conjunction with the 35th Asean Summit here, Dr Jemilah said she had decided to donate the prize money of USD 20,000 accompanying the award, to the Surin Pitsuwan Foundation and the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, equally.

She explained that the foundation was named after the late Tan Sri Surin Abdul Halim Ismail Pitsuwan, a former foreign minister with the Thai government and ASEAN secretary-general. 

“The late Surin was a big influence in my life. I knew him in my earlier years in the humanitarian field when he had just stepped down as Foreign Minister. He was an intellectual and a visionary,” she said.

Dr Jemilah is a trained gynaecologist who took a bullet in her hip while on a MERCY Malaysia humanitarian mission in Iraq in 2003 - two colleagues died and several others were injured in the incident.

Other positions she has held include Chief (humanitarian response branch) at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Senior Fellow (Research and Investment Strategy division) at Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and Senior Visiting Research Fellow (Humanitarian Futures Programme) at Kings College, London. 

The ASEAN Prize is aimed at recognising outstanding achievements by an individual towards building an ASEAN identity, promoting an ASEAN spirit and championing the vision of the regional grouping. 

Last year's recipient was Erlinda Uy Koe from the Philippines, the former chairman of the ASEAN Autism Network.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was glad that Dr Jemilah had been recognised by the regional grouping for her outstanding work in the humanitarian field.

“We are glad her work has been recognised,” he told the Malaysian media when met after attending a series of meetings at the Summit today.

-- BERNAMA