The award was given last Friday by college president Michael Lavelle-Jones, according to a posting on its website yesterday.

Tuanku Muhriz, the Chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), had contributed greatly to the advancement of surgery, said the post.

Lavelle-Jones said the college was honoured to present the award to Tuanku Muhriz as the ruler had raised immense donations to fund healthcare projects at UKM and in the wider communities of Malaysia – particularly for the poor.

“Currently, he is leading projects to establish a centre of excellence for both medicine and surgery as part of a ‘medical city’ in the vicinity of UKM.”

Tuanku Muhriz joins other notable international figures, such as former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in receiving the Honorary Fellowship.