The Malaysian Orthopaedic Association (MOA) successfully organized the 52nd MOA Annual Scientific Meeting 2023 at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre. With the theme of “Enhancing Recovery in Orthopaedic Surgery”, the event welcomes a record-breaking attendance of over 2000 participants from more than 17 countries.

As the oldest and largest fraternity of orthopaedic surgeons in Malaysia, the MOA boasts a membership of 700 orthopaedic surgeons who gathered in Penang for their highly anticipated Annual Scientific Meeting and Annual General Meeting.

In his opening speech, Professor Dr Tunku Kamarul Zaman Tunku Zainol Abidin, President of MOA, highlighted the growing demand for orthopaedic services in Malaysia due to the country's ageing population, with more than 15% of the population expected to be above the age of 65 by 2050.

The conference commenced with a special induction ceremony, where 72 new orthopaedic surgeons were welcomed into MOA fraternity, witnessed by conference attendees and the families of the new members. This addition brings the total number of orthopaedic surgeons in Malaysia to over 1000.

Professor Datuk Dr Sabarul Afian Mokhtar, the Organising Chair of the Annual Scientific Meeting, expressed gratitude to the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) for their support, as well as Dr Zairul Anuar Kamarul Bahrin, Local Organising Chair and Head of Orthopaedic Services of Hospital Pulau Pinang, for their department's invaluable assistance in making the event a success.

In line with its commitment to achieve higher Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), this conference sees MOA embarking on several initiatives together with conference organiser Medical Conference Partners to reduce the carbon footprint of our conference and promote the 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) principle.

Some of the initiatives include promoting a more climate friendly travel to Penang with the support of KTMB (Kereta Tanah Melayu Berhad). KTMB generously gave a 25% discount on train tickets to all MOA attendees to encourage travellers to take the train versus other options of travel. Each passenger traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang and back on KTMB generates 24.6 kg CO2 versus 119 kg CO2 if they take a flight.

Setia SPICE Convention Centre, the venue for the event, was selected for being the world's first solar-powered hybrid convention centre. Additionally, MOA encouraged attendees to bring their own reusable water bottles to reduce plastic waste. The conference aimed to minimize printing by adopting digital solutions, while lanyards were made from recycled plastic mineral water bottles.

Under the principle of governance, MOA, together with Jejawi Advisors and USM Kampus Sekretariat, will assess the conference's sustainability efforts following ISO 20121 and ISO 14064 methods. A comprehensive report will be generated post-conference to evaluate the steps taken.

Spanning four days, the Annual Scientific Meeting featured more than 65 speakers from around the world, presenting on various topics within the field. According to Dr. Shams Amir, the Scientific Chairman, the conference received an overwhelming response, with 742 abstracts submitted, indicating the increasing importance of scientific research in orthopaedics within Malaysia. There is also a tremendous increase in the participation from orthopaedic related industrial partners for this year event.

Embracing social responsibility, MOA partnered with Kloth Woman Up, a brand supporting women from the B40 household income bracket in Selangor. The conference bags provided to attendees were upcycled denim tote bags hand-sewn by these women. As part of the initiative, attendees were encouraged to bring their old cleaned denim jeans to be donated to Kloth Cares. The denim collection takes place during the conference and will be sent to Kloth Cares post conference.

Promoting local arts and culture, MOA invited artisan booths from Penang to showcase their work at the conference, supporting the local arts community.

To support Arthritis Foundation Malaysia's patient awareness education campaigns, Dr. Timothy Cheng, council member of MOA and a cycling enthusiast, organized a fundraising cycling event called "Live to Move" on the 14th of June 2023, encompassing a scenic ride of 90km around Penang Island.