Goh Foundation Pledges $3 Million To National Cancer Centre In Memory Of The Former President Wee Kim Wee.
Monday, 9 May 2005

Dr Wee, 89, who was the chairman of Goh Foundation, passed away from a relapse of prostate cancer.

The donation will endow NCCS' research laboratory under the Division of Medical Sciences. It will be named the Wee Kim Wee Laboratory of Surgical Oncology. The laboratory will be undertaking research to prevent cancer relapses and to conduct clinical trials for common cancers like liver and stomach cancers. NCCS is Singapore's regional premier cancer centre.

It has three research divisions - Division of Cellular and Molecular Research, Division of Medical Sciences, and Division of Clinical Trials & Epidemiological Sciences, which are staffed by full-time scientists who work in collaboration with cancer specialists of various disciplines.

"We want to make this contribution in the name of Dr Wee Kim Wee, whom we all love and know as 'the People's President'. This is not the first time that our Foundation has donated to NCCS, and neither will it be the last," said Mr Goh Cheng Liang, chairman of Wuthelam Holdings.

"The Goh Foundation will in the course of time be making donations to endow other laboratories and chairs in conjunction with the new Graduate Medical School, such as in cancer biology and radiation oncology," added Mr Goh. In the 1990s, the Goh Foundation donated $10 million towards the construction of the current 6-storey NCCS building, which houses clinics, wards, offices and research laboratories.

NCCS' Director, Prof Soo Khee Chee, said: "We at NCCS share the loss of our former President, who has also been the champion of the people. We are honoured to receive this pledge from the Goh Foundation in memory of the late Dr Wee Kim Wee. As the nation's key resource for integrated cancer care, NCCS' work in basic, clinical and translational cancer research are ultimately for the benefit of the man-in-the-street.

"What we do in research is not just to find a cure but also to look for alternatives which will make the treatment affordable and available for everyone's benefit."

The research work conducted by NCCS has over the years contributed towards medical sciences, with several works published in leading international medical journals. NCCS was established as a centre of excellence in research, education and clinical services, through a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach to cancer treatment.