About PSLEM
Persatuan SLE Malaysia
3rd Floor, Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah
16, Jalan Utara
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: (03) 7957-7672
Fax: (03) 7957-0407
Website: http//www.lupusmalaysia.org
E-mail: pslem@streamyx.com / pslemhq@gmail.com
Office Hours
Mondays to Fridays: 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Saturdays: By appointment
Persatuan SLE Malaysia (Penang Chapter)
Information & Counselling Centre
CO-13-GF, Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang
Jalan Utama
10460 Pulau Pinang
Malaysia
Tel: (04) 228-7672
Fax: (04) 228-7672
E-mail: pslempg@tm.net.my
Office Hours
Mondays to Saturdays: 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
Persatuan SLE Malaysia (Sandakan Chapter)
Ms. Monita Cheong
HP: 016-8183619
E-mail: monitpat@streamyx.com
or
Ms. Jean Chan
HP: 012-8133338
E-mail: jccf_wnib@yahoo.com
Background
Persatuan SLE Malaysia (PSLEM) or the Malaysian SLE Association was set up in 1994 by concerned doctors and patients to help people suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Starting with a core group of 10 committee members, PSLEM’s members today total more than 1,700.
From squatting in a doctor’s office in Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, PSLEM today operates from its own Secretariat in Jalan Utara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. A Sandakan Chapter was launched in October 2004 and a Penang Chapter in March 2008. The Penang Chapter has a Counselling Centre near to Hospital Pulau Pinang and organised its first Counsellor Training Workshop in April 2008.
PSLEM’s work is mainly funded by corporate donors and individual well-wishers. The Malaysian government recognises the association as a charity and cash donations to PSLEM are tax deductible.
Executive Committee 2008 / 2010
PSLEM’s Executive Committee (Exco) consists of SLE patients, their family members and friends, and medical professionals who volunteer their time and expertise. Exco Members are elected every two years to plan and carry out PSLEM’s public awareness, patient welfare, and fund-raising programmes. In August 2007, an Executive Secretary was appointed to assist the office bearers in carrying out their duties.
| President | : | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esha Das Gupta |
| Vice President | : | Dr. Yeap Swan Sim |
| Honorary Secretary | : | Ms. Nur Shaminah Mustafa Kamalu |
| Honorary Treasurer | : | Ms. Ooi Chooi Im |
| Asst. Honorary Treasurer | : | Ms. Helen Yong Wai Yuen |
| Executive Secretary | : | Ms. Chee Siew Lian |
Committee Members
Dr. Abdul Halim bin Abdul Gafor
Datin Rahmah Kassim
Ms. Halimatus Sa’diah bt Ariffin
Ms. Pariza Ali
Nursing Sister Ong Bee Lee
Ms. Pau Kiew Bing
Sub-Committee Members
Ms. Lucy Goh Kim Hong
Ms. Shatiffah Mohd Shah
Nursing Sister Juriah Supaat
Ms. Loh Pui Yee
Ms. Lily Loh Lai Len
Ms. Liew Nyet Nyuen
Ms. Pat Chiew Pek Chun
Ms. Tan Poh Lian
State Representatives
Melaka - Ms. Jennifer Yu Swee Mee
Pahang - Ms. Anita Abdullah
Perak - Ms. Magdelene Leong Yeow Yit
Pulau Pinang - Dr. Tan Bee Eng
Sabah - Ms. Monita Cheong Wan Yee & Ms. Jean Chan Chok Fun
Terengganu - Ms. Siti Nurbaya Zakaria
| Medical Advisors | : | Prof. Datin Dr. Norella Kong Dr. Morris Wo Chee Yuen Dr. Heselynn Hussein |
| Counselling Advisors | : | Prof. Dr. M. Parameshvara Deva Dr. Jenny M.P. Deva Ms. Valerie Jaques |
Members of PSLEM’s Executive Committee are allocated duties under the following Sub-Committees:
Publications Sub-Committee
Head: Dr. Yeap Swan Sim
Members: Chee Siew Lian, Helen Yong, Loh Pui Yee
Education Sub-Committee
Head: Dr. Abdul Halim Abdul Gafor
Members: Pau Kiew Bing, Halimatus Sa’diah Ariffin, Sis. Juriah Supaat
Counselling Sub-Committee
Head: Lucy Goh Kim Hong
Members: Betty Tan, Shatiffah Mohd Shah, Pau Kiew Bing, Sister Juriah Supaat, Nur Shaminah Mustafa Kamalu, Chee Siew Lian
Fund-Raising/Publicity Sub-Committee
Head: Datin Rahmah Kassim
Members: Ooi Chooi Im, Chee Siew Lian, Sis. Ong Bee Lee, Liew Nyet Nyuen, Helen Yong, Halimatus Sa’diah Ariffin, Pariza Ali
Social Sub-Committee
Head: Liew Nyet Nyuen
Members: Lily Loh, Pat Chiew Pek Chun, Tan Poh Lian
Activities
PSLEM’s workload has grown with its number of members. The association’s scope of work has also developed over the years to encompass the following tasks:
- Increasing awareness of SLE, its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment among members of the medical profession and the public so as to contribute towards an early diagnosis and proper management of the disease in Malaysia. This is undertaken through its information leaflets, newsletters, public forums, doctors’ forums, and publicity via TV, radio and the print media.
- Educating patients and their family members on the various aspects of SLE through talks, group therapy sessions, and “Doktor & Anda” sessions held during its family camps.
- Providing free counselling services to enable patients and their family members better understand and cope with the challenges of living with the chronic illness. This is undertaken via counselling in hospitals, phone counselling, and face-to-face counselling. Enquiries are also increasingly being received through e-mail.
- Initiating and nurturing the formation of SLE support groups in Malaysia thereby strengthening the social support systems for SLE patients and their family members.
Future Plans
As the only organisation in Malaysia set up to help people suffering from SLE, PSLEM has to work towards extending its reach to every State to benefit all SLE sufferers in the country. Besides its Secretariat in Petaling Jaya, PSLEM is targeting the setting up of five Regional Counselling Centres as follows:
- In Georgetown, Penang to cover the northern region
- In Johor Bahru, Johor to cover the southern region
- In Kuantan, Pahang to cover the East Coast States of Peninsular Malaysia
- In Kota Kinabalu to cover the State of Sabah
- In Kuching to cover the State of Sarawak