RMO Day 16 - Cancelled Conferences

The conference book from last year

The Movement Control Order will definitely be remembered for years to come. Something I would be telling my grandchildren, on how the whole world was brought to a standstill by an invisible force. Closer to home, the yearly activities and rituals would also be interrupted. And for the Malaysian Society of Haematology, our Annual Scientific Meeting was due to start today.

The whole program had been completed by my old buddy Prof Bee and his team in UMMC. The place had been booked, speakers arranged. The venue was the Shangri-La Hotel, and I was planning to book a room there to save me from travelling. But it was not to be. Last month, the Society had to make the decision to postpone the meeting, and the alternative dates were still being discussed. It wasn’t just us which were affected. Other specialities had to rearrange their plans as well. I am sure the dates for meetings towards the end of the year would be packed!

Dato’ Dr Goh Ai Sim chairing the opening session last year. I was tasked to chair the opening session this year.

I have already arranged for my clinics to be changed for the next week. The original plan was to make my pilgrimage to Penang - a ritual I do before each Ramadhan. Luckily, we have yet to book the rooms. The weekend break in Penang would have to wait until everything settled, maybe some time before Aidil Adha.

As for the clinic, I opened a couple of the sessions but left the rest closed. The attendance had been low to my clinic anyway during this curfew, but the Day Care activities remain. I plan to cut down the afternoon activities, allowing me to spend afternoons at home. And with the boys starting their Easter break tomorrow, it is time to chill ...