PUBLIC health is a beautiful profession. It serves us in ways that are invisible, like childhood vaccinations, better nutrition, safer workplaces and stronger air quality standards. When done well, we often forget that public health was there all along. Similarly, we often forget that science is the basis of the electricity, smartphones and refrigerators that we use every day. We take public health for granted for two main reasons: • Because it is familiar and embedded within our daily routines; and • Because we have benefited from it for years. It is very fortunate that almost all Malaysians have high trust in our public healthcare system.