The passing of Dr Ahmad Kamal was felt at all levels at SJMC. The kindest of colleague, always jovial and knew when to press the right button. Very welcoming when I started off in Subang back in 2011.
My Facebook feed was filled with throwback photos of the smiling gentleman and even towards the end, all he thought about was coming back to work. His patients, colleagues and nurses held him in highest regard and we will continue to cherish the memories.
On a personal note, I first met Dr Kamal in 2006 when myself with Dr No Soo Chin and Dr Alan Teh attended a research course in Sabah. We went for a nice seafood dinner one evening, just the four of us. And half a decades later, we were colleagues in Subang.
His passing would also meant that I had to step up and put up the bill for the yearly Cancer Centre berbuka puasa event that he hosted with Dr Matin Mellor every year. We also felt amongst the Doctors that we should rename the Cancer Centre in Subang in his honour. After all, he helped set the unit up.
From now on, it looked like it would be only me using a fountain pen in Surgical A North Tower - at least until somebody else decided to join in. We used to talk about his own collection and his professed love for Audi. I was sure he would be sorely missed by his wonderful family.
Alfatihah.