I am deeply honored and humbled to share some personal news: I have been promoted to Associate Professor at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. It’s the kind of milestone that takes a moment to sink in, and one I wanted to share here, with the patients and community who have supported my work over the years.

Thank You to Those Who Made This Possible

First and foremost, I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to the management of Universiti Malaya for their continued trust in me. A promotion like this is never earned alone, and I’m acutely aware that this milestone isn’t just mine — it belongs to the incredible mentors, students, colleagues, and patients who have been by my side throughout my journey, all the way from my early housemanship days through my residency and fellowship.

Every stage of that journey shaped the clinician I am today. My mentors taught me not only the technical skill of otorhinolaryngology, but also the judgment and patience needed to practice it well. My students and junior colleagues have kept me sharp, asking questions that push me to keep learning even as I teach. And my patients — who trust me with some of the most personal and often frightening moments of their health — are the reason any of this work matters in the first place. This promotion reflects on all of them as much as it does on me.

Building Sleep Apnea Surgery and Robotic Surgery from the Ground Up in Civil Service.

A large part of what this promotion represents to me is the work of building a subspecialty focus in sleep apnea treatment and robotic surgery, largely from the ground up. When I began developing these areas of interest, there wasn’t much existing infrastructure to build on at Universiti Malaya. There was no established playbook, no dedicated team already in place, and very little precedent for the kind of program I hoped to create. That meant setting up protocols, training pathways, and clinical workflows largely by trial, research, and persistence.

Sleep apnea, in particular, is a condition that’s still widely underdiagnosed and misunderstood. Many patients live for years with disrupted sleep, chronic fatigue, and downstream cardiovascular risk without realizing that an ENT-led evaluation could identify the underlying airway issue. Developing a structured approach to diagnosing and treating sleep apnea, including surgical options where appropriate, has been one of the most meaningful parts of my career.

Robotic surgery brought its own set of challenges. It requires not just surgical skill, but also investment in training, equipment familiarity, and the confidence to bring a genuinely new approach into a clinical environment used to more conventional techniques. Introducing robotic-assisted procedures into our practice meant convincing colleagues and institutions of their value, one case and one outcome at a time.

Throughout all of this, it has been a responsibility I’ve never taken lightly. I made it a priority to ensure that the dedicated, like-minded people working alongside me could benefit from our shared efforts rather than feel like the growth of the subspecialty was mine alone. Watching younger colleagues take on cases with growing confidence, publish their own research, and eventually mentor others in turn has been one of the most rewarding parts of this entire process. A subspecialty is never really built by one person; it’s built by a team willing to take on new territory together.

What This Promotion Means Going Forward

Being promoted to Associate Professor isn’t just a change in title. It comes with greater responsibility: more involvement in shaping how the department trains the next generation of ENT surgeons, more opportunity to contribute to research that can influence how sleep apnea and complex ENT conditions are treated across Malaysia, and a stronger platform to advocate for the resources our specialty needs.

I see this as an opportunity to formalize a lot of what has, until now, been built somewhat informally — turning individual projects and case series into structured programs, mentoring pathways, and research initiatives that can outlast any one person’s involvement, including my own.

Looking Ahead

I look forward to contributing even more to this institution and the broader medical community in the years ahead. There is still a great deal of work to do: expanding access to sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, continuing to refine and expand robotic surgical techniques, and training the next generation of ENT specialists who will carry this work forward long after I’ve moved on from any given role.

To everyone who has been part of this journey so far, whether as a mentor, colleague, student, or patient, thank you. This is a shared achievement, and I’m genuinely excited for what comes next.

To set an appointment with Dr. Goh Kindly visit the link here