Cover Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Yahya Awang with his wife, Puan Sri Dr Suraiya Hani (Photo: Amru Shakir)
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Yahya Awang with his wife, Puan Sri Dr Suraiya Hani (Photo: Amru Shakir)
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A Tatler Most Influential 2025 inductee, Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Yahya Awang reflects on a life of service, skill and quiet decisions that helped shape Malaysia’s cardiac care
There is a particular kind of irony that does not escape anyone in the room. The man being wheeled forward to present the first copy of his memoir to a former Prime Minister is the same man who, decades earlier, had held that Prime Minister’s heart in his hands. For Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Yahya Awang, such moments seem almost scripted by fate and yet, nothing about his extraordinary career was ever left to chance.
Born into a family of doctors in Johor, Yahya came of age surrounded by the quiet conviction that medicine was a calling, not merely a profession. His father, Tun Dr Awang Hassan, was the defining influence of his life. “He always reminded us, his children, to study diligently and serve the people. Private practice, he would say, was something to be considered only after years of public service,” Yahya recalls. It was a philosophy he would carry with him from Johor to Melbourne, from the wards of a general hospital to the most consequential operating theatres in Malaysian history.
Above Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Yahya Awang performed Malaysia’s first heart transplant there, a milestone in the country’s medical history
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Yahya Awang performed Malaysia’s first heart transplant there, a milestone in the country’s medical history
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After four years at Melbourne Grammar, Yahya was admitted to medical school at Monash University in 1969. “Gaining a place was rather competitive, but I did well, earning honours in chemistry and economics,” he writes. Medicine had never been in doubt as a destination. “I knew I had always wanted to be a doctor. Since young, I had felt that I should follow in the footsteps of my father, brother, cousin, uncles and aunt, all of whom were doctors.” In 1975, he returned to Malaysia to begin his housemanship at Johor Bahru General Hospital. But first, he had to complete a crash course in Bahasa Malaysia to qualify for the government medical service.
His years in Melbourne also brought something beyond a medical degree. While studying at Monash, Yahya met Puan Sri Dr Suraiya Hani Hussein, daughter of Malaysia’s third Prime Minister, Tun Dato’ Hussein Onn. His courtship was charmingly resourceful: “To attract her attention, I used to throw pebbles at her window on the first floor of Deakin Hall after my squash games pretending to ask for a drink!” The couple married in November 1977, and Suraiya has been his closest partner ever since, in life and ultimately in completing his memoir. They have four children together: Zakry Onn Yahya, Zareen Aidah Yahya, Zamir Awang Yahya and Zarif Hussein Yahya, all of whom are practising medical doctors.
I chose cardiac surgery because I was informed that we were short of expertise in this field
After obtaining his fellowship in surgery in 1979, Yahya faced a pivotal choice between colorectal and cardiac surgery. The decision was characteristic of the man. “I chose cardiac surgery because I was informed that we were short of expertise in this field.” A national need, quietly answered.
He went on to build a reputation as one of Malaysia’s foremost cardiothoracic surgeons, and his name became widely known in 1989 when he performed a coronary artery bypass graft on then-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. “To this day, I am still asked if I was nervous performing the surgery. Of course I was, but to me it was no different from the way I normally felt before any operation I performed,” he writes. Mahathir, for his part, was characteristically measured in his endorsement: “I was happy when they said he was as competent as any heart surgeon in the US. I happened to know his father, Dr Awang. In fact, when I was studying medicine in Singapore, I stayed at his house in Johor Baru. His father was a good doctor and I believed his son would be too.”
Above While studying at Monash, Yahya met Puan Sri Dr Suraiya Hani Hussein, daughter of Malaysia’s third Prime Minister, Tun Dato’ Hussein Onn
While studying at Monash, Yahya met Puan Sri Dr Suraiya Hani Hussein, daughter of Malaysia’s third Prime Minister, Tun Dato’ Hussein Onn
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The surgery proved to be a turning point not just for Mahathir, but for the nation’s cardiac care. During his recovery, conversations with Yahya and his colleagues crystallised into something larger. “Based on the discussions I had while recovering from the operation, I made the decision to propose this to the government,” Mahathir recalled. The result was Institut Jantung Negara (IJN), the National Heart Institute, owned by the government but run with the efficiency of an independent corporation, ensuring it remained accessible to civil servants who could not afford private care. Yahya helped establish IJN and, in 1998, performed Malaysia’s first heart transplant there, a milestone in the country’s medical history. He would later found Cardiac Vascular Sentral Kuala Lumpur (CVSKL), further cementing his legacy in advancing cardiac care.
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He performed a second bypass on Mahathir in 2007, and the former Prime Minister’s trust in him was undiminished. That trust extended well beyond one patient. YAM Che Puan Besar Hajjah Kalsom Abdullah recalled the words of DYMM Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Sultan of Pahang: “If he was good for Mahathir, he would be good for me.”
Above Heart to Heart: Memoir of Cardiothoracic Surgeon Yahya Awang
Heart to Heart: Memoir of Cardiothoracic Surgeon Yahya Awang
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In 2025, despite being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Plus, Yahya released Heart to Heart: Memoir of Cardiothoracic Surgeon Yahya Awang—a task made possible through the dedication of Puan Sri Dr Suraiya Hani, who painstakingly completed the manuscript on his behalf. The launch was graced by Dr Mahathir and Tun Dr Hasmah Mohd Ali, and marked further by Monash University conferring upon Yahya the Degree of Doctor of Laws. His son Dr Zakry spoke before a visibly moved room, then wheeled his father forward to present the first copy to the man his father had once helped save.
The memoir traces the journey of a Johor boy shaped by his father’s belief in service; a belief that rippled outward to touch a nation.
If you would like to find out more about the book and purchase a personal copy, kindly visit hearttoheartmemoir.carrd.co
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