Penang Institute and members of The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang, accompanied by the Chief Minister of Penang, YAB Chow Kon Yeow, gathered to commemorate the 142nd birthday of Dr Wu Lien-Teh. The highlight of the event was a herb-planting ceremony in the new Wu Lien-Teh Herb Garden within Penang Institute.
Dr Wu Lien-Teh was a renowned Malayan physician most known for his contributions during the 1910-11 plague in Manchuria. He was the first person of Chinese descent to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Besides designing a mask which was the precursor to the modern-day surgical mask, he was also an anti-racism and anti-opium advocate.