Datin Dr Asmahan Md Ismail
President
Malaysia Society of Rheumatology
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
On behalf of Malaysian Society of Rheumatology, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 21st SSR-MSR Virtual Workshop in Rheumatology hosted by Singapore Society of Rheumatology. This annual meeting continues the tradition of sharing knowledge from the 2 regions as well as an exciting and scintillating programme with world renowned speakers.
Since these workshops began in 1998, it has been conducted yearly, alternating between Singapore and Malaysia. Unfortunately, the workshop last year in 2020, which was supposed to be held at Kuala Lumpur, was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic which took us all by surprise. Since then, of course, we have learned to adapt, and with the explosion of technology, the seas and skies are no longer a barrier to the exchange of ideas and social networking.
The theme for this year’s workshop is “Rheumatology in the 21st Century” and I must say that it really fits well with how we adapt to the new norm of getting connected with each other while we are still battling with COVID-19 pandemic. Life goes on, and if this pandemic has taught us anything, it is, that although we need to learn from the past, we should live gratefully in the present while also preparing for the future.
I would like to thank everyone who has made this workshop possible, from the committee members, organizers, speakers and sponsors to the participants. We would also like to especially thank the committee for their gracious invitation to MSR to participate in the workshop. Let us hope that we will be able to meet again face to face sometime soon, but in the meantime, we are certain that we will enjoy this virtual meeting and gathering.