70-year-old Malaysian man graduates from medical school: 'Friends thought I was crazy'

When students at the Southwestern University PHINMA in Cebu, Philippines saw the grey-haired Toh Hong Keng in class, they thought he was the professor. But much to their surprise, they were looking at another freshman medical student. In July 2024, the retired executive from Malaysia finally graduated from medical school and went on to become one of the world's oldest to do so.

Who is the 70-year-old retiree from Malaysia who recently graduated from medical school?

When most spend their retirement years planning travel routes across the world, indulging in gold and other long-ignored hobbies, Toh Hong Keng was already planning his stint in life: to become a doctor. ¡°My family and friends were surprised at first. Several of my friends thought I was crazy wanting to study medicine at this age,¡± he told CNN.

"It wasn¡¯t always easy," he admitted. "At 65 to 70 years old, my memory, eyesight, hearing and body are not as good as when I was younger."

Keng spent his formative years living in a rubber plantation with his family in Malaysia. The youngest members of the family--him a teenager along with his siblings--would get up at the crack of dawn at 4 am to tap rubber from trees and once the task was done, they'd head to school.

But becoming a doctor wasn't always his dream. "In those days we didn¡¯t have much idea about what our dreams are. We just hoped that we could have a better life."

Keng went on to study engineering and chemistry at the University of Bradford in Britain, then moved to London for a master's degree. Having already worked gruelling hours as a garbage collector to pay off his student loans, Keng didn't find it difficult to find a job once back on homeground in Malaysia. After several stints and a trip across Asia, he finally settled in Hong Kong with his wife and three kids.

When did he decide he wanted to become a doctor?

Credit: Toh Hong Keng/Henry Ahn Photo Studio via CNN | It was less a challenge and more a life skill that he felt could help him one day

In 2018, while on vacation, he met two Indian medical students in Kyrgyzstan, which is when he had an epiphany: he could become a doctor one day.

¡°The only reason why I decided to study medicine was because I wanted something useful to do,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve done different courses. I¡¯ve done economics, I¡¯ve done chemistry, I¡¯ve done electronic engineering ¨C but I don¡¯t want to do that again.¡±

It was less a challenge and more a life skill that he felt could help him one day. "If I can¡¯t be a practising doctor, at least I can look after myself somewhat," he revealed.

The challenge...

His search for a university and program made him realise there was a cap on the age of an applicant, with most at 40. After much research and some exams and interviews, he bagged an offer at the Southwestern University in Cebu.

While most universities and colleges have a cap on an applicant's age, there are doctors who continue to practise despite their age. In India, the National Medical Commission announced in 2022 that the age restriction would be removed, and the same would be applicable to NEET that very year.

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Lead image credit: Toh Hong Keng via CNN

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