After living overseas for over 20 years each, Dr. Melissa Ley-Hui TAN and Dr. Kenneth Kok finally decided it was time to return to their roots in Malaysia. It has now been 9 months since their return and the married couple continues to adjust to their new lives in Kuala Lumpur. Here’s what they shared about their experience returning home to Malaysia.
Home is Where Your Loved Ones Are
For the married couple, staying closer to family and being around their loved ones was an important factor in their decision to return. Having lived abroad since 1996, first in Australia and then the UK, Dr. Melissa Ley-Hui TAN is embracing the challenges and changes that come with her new life in Kuala Lumpur. However, she states that she has no regrets about returning home as what’s most important is that she can now spend more quality time with her family members. Dr. Kenneth Kok also remarks that he’s glad he was able to come back home even after spending most of his life in the UK. He feels proud to be able to serve his fellow Malaysians and is delighted that he can now spend more time with his loved ones.
Securing Their Dream Careers in a Top Global Hospital
Moving to a different country, securing your career in a new city, navigating around a new space and getting used to the environment can be a large mental load. As first-time doctors in Malaysia, to start practising in the country, they needed to register under the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and Malaysian National Specialist Registry (NSR), meet with representatives of various hospitals to secure their jobs and go through plenty of other processes before being able to secure their jobs back home.
In a twist of fate, they came across Prince Court Medical Centre Sdn Bhd (Official)’s hiring team, which is committed to hiring Malaysians who have worked abroad. Prince Court Medical Centre Sdn Bhd (Official) (PCMC) is one of Malaysia’s most prestigious hospitals. Their hiring team ensures they’re providing their talents with the right support and facilitations to ease their return by working alongside MyHeart, which helps the talents in the process of returning. They also have plenty of benefits such as competitive salaries, company benefits and a stellar working environment. Working at PCMC gives the doctors an opportunity to be a part of a compassionate, professional and dedicated team which will surely help them grow in their careers. Along with MyHeart’s Returning Expert Programme, they also enjoy plenty of benefits such as tax exemptions and access to top private schools in Malaysia for their children.
A Long Time Away and Finally Back Home
After confirming their employment at PCMC, the doctors are now flourishing in their jobs. Dr. Melissa Ley-Hui TAN continues her expertise as a specialist in breast oncology and Dr. Kenneth Kok in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Melissa Ley-Hui TAN states how the Malaysian medical industry is already of great status and she is happy to be back equipped with her wealth of knowledge to further improve the industry to the best of her abilities.
Their day-to-day life at PCMC consists of many different responsibilities. On certain days, they may be found in the operating theatre, on others they may be consulting patients, catching up with nurses or attending PCMC’s fortnightly multidisciplinary team meetings. However, no matter the agenda of the day, they make sure to keep up their daily lunch dates and are enjoying the time they spend working together.
As we speak to the doctors, they show their appreciation for MyHeart’s many initiatives. MyHeart believes in connecting Malaysians around the world and creating a global Malaysian community of talents that share their knowledge and expertise with each other for the betterment of the Malaysian economy. Dr. Ken expresses that he wished he had known about these initiatives during his time abroad, as it would have benefitted him greatly.
If you’re a Malaysian looking to return home, MyHeart’s Returning Expert Programme (REP) facilitates the return of Malaysians abroad by helping them find a good job, connecting parents to top schools in Malaysia for their children’s education, providing them tax incentives and other perks to get them settled back home.
For Malaysians who do not meet the criteria for the programme, MyHeart has other initiatives that you can benefit from, such as Work in Malaysia, which helps Malaysians abroad find jobs in Malaysia; Network and Connect, which allows you to connect with other Malaysians abroad; Collaboration where you can share your knowledge with your country through our initiative and plenty more.
