PUTRAJAYA: Kuala Lumpur Hospital’s head of Emergency and Trauma Department, Datuk Dr Mahathar Abd Wahab, has been appointed director-general of Health effective on Thursday (May 29).

He replaces Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, who went on mandatory retirement on May 1.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had consented to the appointment.

He said Dr Mahathar, 56, began his career with the Ministry of Health as a medical officer on Oct 1, 1996.

"Dr Mahathar holds a Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of St Andrews, Scotland, a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and a Master of Emergency Medicine from Universiti Sains Malaysia.

"I am confident in his competence and credibility to drive the ongoing health reform agenda, which seeks to deliver efficient, compassionate, and professional healthcare services for the benefit of the people and the nation," Shamsul Azri said in a statement on Wednesday (May 28).- Bernama