Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished colleagues, dear friends,
It is my profound honour to stand here today to deliver the Ganesapillai Memorial Lecture, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Persatuan Dermatologi Malaysia (PDM) — and later tonight, the launch of our commemorative book, Dermatology — Beyond Skin Deep.
As Lao Tzu reminds us: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
And so it was, 50 years ago, that a small group of visionaries took that first step. Following a rather sarcastic comment from a colleague — and armed with nothing more than conviction, courage, and a vision of unity — they began the journey that brings us here today.
Before I begin, let me take a moment to honour the man whose name this lecture carries — Dr T. Ganesapillai.
To many of us, Ganes was more than just a colleague. He was a mentor, an anchor, a friend.
He was a good doctor — deeply committed to his patients.
A family man — devoted and grounded.
And a teacher par excellence — whose patience and warmth nurtured generations of dermatologists.
One is often misled by his stare into the distance as he talks to you. You can be fully assured that each and every word said is heard, and he will remember it years later.
I remember vividly bumping into him one evening on Jalan Telawi, just two weeks before his untimely departure. He had just returned from Kuala Terengganu, where he was serving as a contract consultant.
We ended up at the Irish Pub, swapping old stories and jokes way past the dinner hour, much to the distress of our poor wives waiting to start dinner at home. I didn’t know then that it would be the last time I saw him alive.
Those who trained with him remember not just his knowledge, but the way he made them feel valued. His legacy lives on, not only in clinical excellence, but in the humility and kindness he embodied.
It is in that humble spirit — of service, growth, and shared humanity — that I stand before you today.
This morning, I invite you on a journey: an intertwining of three stories — my own life, the growth of PDM, and the evolution of dermatology, particularly psoriasis.
Along the way, I will also weave in the broader currents of our region’s history — from the Vietnam War and the birth of Asean, to globalisation, and now, the drift toward regionalisation.
Three journeys, intertwined. All reflections of one another
Roots: 1970s — Foundations In A Turbulent Era
I was born in Ipoh in 1951 — an anak Perak, from a town known for tin mines, rain trees, and the lush greenery of the Kinta Valley. But my life’s work would not be about what lies beneath the ground, but about what lies beneath the skin: medicine.
In 1974, at 23 years old, I was a medical student at the University of Malaya. Yes, I was interested in skin, especially that of the female species. I can now confess that in 1974, dermatology of the human skin was the last thing on my radar.
Then came my two-week dermatology rotation under Dr B.A. Adam. His opening line stuck with me: “Dermatology is not skin deep.”
We studied leprosy under Michael Waters, learned the Ridley–Jopling classification, and watched Dr John Petit’s sharp diagnostic eye and even sharper tongue in action.
At Sungei Buloh, Dr M.K. Bhojawni gave us a dramatic demonstration of how leprosy was not as contagious as people feared — by rubbing a patient’s lesion with a medical student’s necktie, and then calmly handing it back to its horrified owner!
I am sure, the first thing he did when he returned to the CSH was to incinerate the psychedelic garment that was given by his girlfriend the Christmas before.
Moments like that captured our curiosity — dermatology was taught in the raw at its most vivid and livid form.
By 1978, I was presenting my first paper on Chronic trophic ulcers in leprosy at the World Leprosy Congress in Mexico under the tutorship of Dr K Rajagopalan, the then acting director of the National Leprosy Control Centre at Sungei Buloh.
The opportunity and experience was my introduction to the international fraternity of leprology. Soon after, I had a year-long fellowship at NIMR Mill Hill, London, understudying and working with giants of leprosy research: Ridley, Rees, and Waters. It was a year of profound enlightenment and achievement. I had rub shoulders with the Big Boys.
Meanwhile, psoriasis in the 1970s was still poorly understood. It was seen as nothing more than dysfunctional keratinocyte hyperproliferation disorder.
Treatments — tar, dithranol, methotrexate, PUVA — were crude and toxic. Patients were stigmatised, excluded even from hotel swimming pools.
Like leprosy, psoriasis was regarded as incurable, a life sentence, and patients were labelled as unworthy to be seen in public. Years later, the Psoriasis Patient Group was to take the Philippines Airlines to court for refusing entry for one of its passengers who has psoriasis. The airlines lost the case and the stigma of psoriasis worldwide vanished into the air.
As young students, we had more questions than answers as we tried to keep pace with our teachers who seemed to maestros with their spot diagnoses of diseases with confusing names like pityriasis lichenoides, acuta varicelliformis, pityriasis rubra pilaris, acquired keratosis, palmaris et plantaris, sacultum, etc.
To us, the poor medical students, like bald men, all pityriasis looked alike.
Growing Together: 1980s–1990s — Building Structure Amid Regional Growth
The 1980s brought rapid development across Southeast Asia. Asean was consolidating, and Malaysia was among the “Asian tigers.”
Now, in those days, PDM was a small society. Which meant if you volunteered for one job, you usually ended up with three.
I served as honorary secretary, treasurer, organising secretary, and then chairman — sometimes consecutively, sometimes all at once. But we did it out of passion, and because there was work to be done.
By the mid-1980s, PDM had matured enough to step onto the regional stage. In 1986, we signed the Bali Accord, which formalised our place in the Asian-Australasian dermatology community.
And in 1990, we became the permanent secretariat for the League of Asian Dermatological Societies (LADS). I served as permanent Secretary-General until 2014. That’s almost a quarter of a century — longer than some of our political masters who are still alive today.
During those years, regional cooperation blossomed. Fellowship became second nature. Every Regional Conference of Dermatology wasn’t just an academic meeting — it was a reunion of friends, colleagues, and mentors across Southeast Asia.
The bonds we built then remain palpable even today.
In psoriasis, progress was emerging too. In the mid-1980s, we still saw it only through the microscope: acanthosis, parakeratosis, Munro’s abscesses etc. Treatments were still empirical, and immune mechanisms were yet to be understood.
Then came retinoids — which felt like a breakthrough. Everyone thought we then had a magic bullet to be disappointed less than a decade later.
At home, Malaysia launched Vision 2020. Jaring, then Streamyx, appeared in our living rooms, followed by many others. PDM founded the Junior Club, Jurnal Dermatologi Malaysia, and helped establish the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Master of Dermatology programme, laying an academic foundation for the specialty.
But new challenges emerged. Cosmetic dermatology began to rise. Some feared it would overshadow clinical practice. In 1991, the late Dr. Ganesapillai wrote a prescient editorial: “Dermatology in Malaysia – Year 2000”.
He imagined a future where Malaysian dermatologists would be highly skilled, ethical, versatile — equipped to handle both medical and cosmetic needs.
He emphasised training in subspecialties: dermatopathology, environmental dermatology, and infectious diseases such as leprosy, STDs, and HIV.
He saw dermatologists not as peripheral specialists, but as first points of contact for all skin conditions, and as contributors to national growth.
And crucially, he highlighted the need for a National Skin Centre of Excellence — a hub for training, research, and leadership.
It was an ambitious vision. And much of it remains as relevant today as it was then.
Maturity And Global Integration: 2000s–2010s – Present
The 2000s heralded the acceleration of globalisation: China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, and the SARS outbreak in 2003, and then bird flu gave the nation an unsolicited preview of what was to come 20 years later, and digital transformation took hold.
In parallel, the Human Genome Project (HGP), with 90 per cent completed in 2003, mapped the entire human genetic code, revolutionizing biomedical research.
For immune-mediated diseases like psoriasis, it unlocked insights into genetic susceptibility, immune regulation, and inflammatory pathways.
Discoveries of key genes, such as HLA-C*06:02 and cytokine-related loci, clarified disease mechanisms and identified novel therapeutic targets.
This genetic roadmap accelerated the development of biologic therapies targeting IL-17, IL-23, and TNF pathways, dramatically improving patient outcomes.
Beyond treatment, the HGP spurred advances in precision medicine, enabling risk prediction, personalized therapy selection, and deeper understanding of psoriasis as a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors
PDM matured as well. In 2018, I became the founding president of Asian League of Dermatological Societies (ALDS), with PDM as one of its charter members.
Then came Covid-19.
It disrupted clinic operations, delayed cancer diagnoses, and gave us new problems like PPE-related dermatoses and cutaneous Covid signs. But it also forced us to innovate.
Teledermatology became mainstream. Conferences went online. We launched the first online-generated Asian Consensus on Biologic Therapy, later adapted for Malaysia and the 10th Regional Scientific Meeting of Paediatric Dermatology (RSMPD) in conjunction with our 46th Annual Dermatology Conference was hosted entirely online.
The global world of dermatology was brought to our doorstep at the click of a mouse.
Thus, from this crisis came resilience, adaptability, and a new digital landscape for dermatology — one that will stay with us.
In 2025, we delivered the first Pan Asia Congress of Dermatology in Bali — a milestone of regional leadership hardly two years after the official declaration of the end of the pandemic.
From Beyond Skin Deep To Soul Deep
Ladies and gentlemen, as we stand here at this golden milestone, the arc from 1975 to 2025 comes into focus.
It is not just my life and career, not just PDM’s journey, not just the science of psoriasis, nor the shifting geopolitics of our region. It is all of these woven together.
And through that tapestry runs one clear truth: dermatology, and the societies we build, are far more than skin deep. They are, in fact, soul deep.
Our history is not just a record of clinical milestones or organisational triumphs — it is a testament to our shared soul: the compassion of our mentors, the trust of our patients, the commitment of our colleagues, and the dreams of generations yet to come.
So let us honour them. Let us carry the torch forward — deepening our understanding, broadening our compassion, widening our reach.
And let us ensure that the future we build is one where disease gives way to health, where stigma gives way to dignity, and where the superficial becomes the sublime.
As we close, I leave you with two thoughts from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American essayist and philosopher from the 19th century, whose words still resonate with timeless clarity.
First: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
And second: “It is not the destination, it is the journey.”
With deepest gratitude, and with hope from the bottom of my heart, it has been my privilege and my pleasure to share this journey with you.
Thank you.
Dr Steven Chow is the Secretary-General of Asian Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AADV), and President of the Asian League of Dermatological Societies (ALDS).
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
