Military pharmacist Capt Manvikram Singh wins regional award

By Adrian David | New Straits Times | MALAYSIA |

KUALA LUMPUR: A 28-year-old pharmacist at Tuanku Mizan Armed Forces Hospital in Wangsa Maju has created a new milestone for the Armed Forces by being its first medical officer to be honoured with the ‘Pharmacy Professional of The Year 2019’ award.

Captain Manvikram Singh Gill was presented with the top professional pharmacist award in Southeast Asia recently by SwipeRx, the largest social network of pharmacists in Southeast Asia.

Manvikram beat thousands of other pharmacists in the region to win the award, given in recognition of his contribution to the practice in the country.

“I am proud of the award which helped put the Armed Forces and the country on a pedestal. It will motivate me and my fellow colleagues to aim higher in our service,” said Manvikram.

He attributed his success to his superior Brigadier-General Datuk Dr A. Halim Basari for his guidance in grooming and encouraging him to do better. Dr Halim is Malaysia’s first military pharmacist and currently serves as pharmacy director at the Health Services Division of the Defence Ministry.

“I was Dr Halim’s understudy during my early years after graduating as second-lieutenant (from the Armed Forces Health Institute at the Terendak Camp in Malacca).

He was among the first batch of pharmacists to be provisionally trained in an Armed Forces institution before being commissioned into the Royal Medical and Dental Corps.

Manvikram, who hails from Gunung Rapat in Ipoh, Perak, attended SMK Sri Ampang in Ipoh and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy from the La Trobe University in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 2014.

Read the full story, ’28-year-old military pharmacist first recipient of top award in SEA’ (New Straits Times, 17 Feb 2020), here.