We devote so much effort to improving how we live, yet rarely pause to consider how we leave. Death may arrive unannounced, but the Silent Mentor Programme offers a way for loss to become a deliberate gift.
I had volunteered to clean up after workshops since my pre-clinical years, but it was only as a participant in the 44th Silent Mentor Workshop that I grasped the true magnitude of a Silent Mentor’s sacrifice. It is a conscious choice to consent to one’s body being kept for months, marked by stitches, as each incision is made in service of learning. When I asked a colleague if they would become a Silent Mentor, they declined, saying they were not that selfless. I understood why. Each morning, as we uncovered our mentor to find loose strands of hair and bodily fluids staining the linen pad, my heart ached. Despite our best efforts to preserve dignity, it was an unlovely sight. And yet, as our fingertips touched the cold skin, a quiet warmth of gratitude took root within us.
Words fall short of expressing my thankfulness for this experience. The Silent Mentor Programme is one of a kind in Malaysia, and a defining hallmark of the University of Malaya. I am deeply grateful to the Silent Mentors themselves; to the Silent Mentor Centre Committee; to the anatomy laboratory staff who arrived before us and left after us each day of the workshop; to Mr. Sia, Ms. Se Woon, our sign language teacher; to the sponsors of our personal protective equipment; to the medical officers who stayed on after long on-call hours to teach; and to the many others working silently behind the scenes. Their collective dedication ensured that the workshop honoured our mentor’s final wishes. I am especially indebted to the families of our Silent Mentors, who deferred their grieving for half a year. Time, after all, does not heal all wounds.
My Silent Mentor, Ms. Leong Sui Ngor, was accompanied by only two family members during the Initiation and Cremation Ceremonies. As I watched other mentors surrounded by loved ones, I wondered how she might feel, looking down upon her own farewell. She may have been single, with fewer photographs and personal stories than the others, yet I take comfort in knowing that our group sent her off with respect, gratitude, and care — properly mourned and deeply honoured. She lived a beautiful life, and in giving herself to our learning, departed with meaning.
There truly is no better way to die.
Lois Low Xin Ning (UM_22005379)
44th Silent Mentor Workshop • 06-11 Jan 2026
English