HISTORY, VISION AND MISSION

History of Tun Dr Ismail Residential College (Kolej Tun Dr Ismail, KTDI)

The Tun Dr. Ismail Residential College (Kolej Tun Dr Ismail, KTDI) has been operating since June 1999 and was officiated three years after it is built. In the earlier days, “Kamsis Tun Dr. Ismail” was located in Jalan Temerloh nearby the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa which was initially the residential college for medical students of UKM. Now the residential college there is known as Tun Syed Nasir Residential College. In 1997, the National University of Malaysia has set up its own teaching hospital, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) and Faculty of Medicine, has been transferred to the Hospital UKM in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. This resulted in difficulty for the clinical students to travel daily from Jalan Temerloh to Cheras for their clinical years training. Inevitably, upon the urges of clinical students who want them to be provided a residence nearer to HUKM, a proposal was for the establishment of Tun Dr. Ismail Residential College on its current site. In 1999, the construction of Tun Dr. Ismail Residential College began and was built within the site of HUKM with six blocks of hostels which could accommodates around 600 students as well as other facilities. In 2015, the Tun Dr. Ismail Residential College 2 was established and officiated to house more students of Faculty of Medicine (preclinical year students and nursing students) due to the move of Faculty of Medicine for preclinical years in Kuala Lumpur to Cheras.

Who is Tun Dr. Ismail?

The Allahyarham Tun Dr. Ismail bin Dato ‘Haji Abdul Rahman was born on 4 November 1915 in Johor Baharu, Johor.

He received his early education at the Sekolah Bukit Zaharah Johor Baharu and later at the Maktab Inggeris Johor Baharu. After graduating from high school, he furthered his education at King Edward VII Medical College in Singapore from 1935 to 1937. At 28 years old, he continued his medical studies at the University Of Melbourne, Australia.

Thanks to his tireless efforts, he emerged as the first Malay to receive a Medical Doctor degree from the university in 1945. He was married to Toh Puan Norashikin bt Dato’ Mohd Seth and was blessed with 6 children, 4 sons and 2 daughters. Allahyarham Tun Dr. Ismail passed away on August 2, 1973 at his home in Kuala Lumpur when he was 58 years old.

Looking back at the posts he had held, he was appointed as a member of the Johor State Assembly and later as the Johor Government Executive Council (EXCO) in 1948. In 1951, he was appointed as the Federation of Malaya’s first Minister of Trade and Industry. On January 1, 1956, he joined the delegations for independence led by Tunku Abdul Rahman to London to demand for independence for the Federation of Malaya. On August 31, 1957 (after independence), he served as Undertaking Minister and then as the first ambassador for Federation of Malaya to the United States. He also served as a permanent representative of Federation of Malaya in the United Nations until 1959. In 1959 he was also entrusted as Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the 1960s, he was appointed as Minister of Internal Security and 3 years later was appointed as Minister of Home Affairs. In 1970, he served as a member of the National Legislative Council. In 1971, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia by the late Tun Abdul Razak. In addition, he also holds the position of Minister of Trade and Industry. To commemorate and appreciate his services as a prominent political figure, he was awarded the Panglima Mangku Negara (PMN) medal by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on August 31, 1959 and Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of Malaya in June 1964. He was also awarded with the Honorary Award by the government of the Republic of Vietnam and Bintang Kebesaran Seri Paduka Mahkota Johor (SPMJ), both received in late October 1965. He also received the Bintang Kebesaran Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM) award by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in April 1966 with title of ‘Tun’ to him. He also received the Anugerah Bintang Republik Indonesia from President Sukarno in March 1970 and the Honorary Doctorate of Law from Universiti Sains Malaysia in June 1973. His contribution and service to the homeland is huge. Among his greatest contribution was in demanding the independence of the Federation of Malaya and assisting the country in reuniting racial relations after the May 13, 1969 incident. He was able to restore domestic peace through his contributions for the survival of the nation from the destruction of colonization and racial fire. Allahyarham Tun Dr. Ismail had held an active role in shaping the destiny of our beloved country with numerous contributions for the nation in his lifetime. Now, the State has lost a truly dedicated and distinguished statesman figure.

VISION

Tun Dr. Ismail Residential College is committed to being a best residential college in shaping students who are believers, knowledgeable, qualifiable, visionary, and acquiring excellent soft skills.

MISSION

Tun Dr. Ismail Residential College is committed in providing efficient, trusted and holistic services in addition to becoming a well-known residential college in line with the vision and mission of The National University of Malaysia