While history-making cabinet members create anecdotal realities, nation re-engineering must be tops in the agenda.
CONGRATULATIONS, to the newly appointed Cabinet members of New Malaysia. The line-up is made up of highly qualified lawmakers from various fields of expertise.
And there are those with illustrious political careers and all of them have a clean track record that says it all. The newly-minted cabinet members have set some new records in the history of the Malaysian government.
Beginning with the Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is the oldest premier to take office and the first to make a comeback to the prime minister’s office. The nonagenarian is also the first to take office with the title “Tun”.
A major point of interest here, for the first time, a non-BN cabinet has taken office after 61 years of national independence.
[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]With the appointment of Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah as the Deputy Prime Minister, Malaysia has also proven to the world that we are truly a progressive country that practices gender equality.
Both the top two cabinet positions are held by medical doctors – so we can safely assume “the health of the country is in good hands”. I can say this confidently, as Mahathir’s acumen for economy, business and trade is impeccable.
Syed Saddiq jettisoned the previous record held by his predecessor Khairy Jamaluddin as the youngest minister at age 37.
The Johor-born Syed Saddiq is now helming the Ministry of Youth and Sports at the age
of 26.
The youngest female cabinet member is Yeo Bee Yin, 35. Yeo who also hails from Johor is Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment.
And for the first time a ministry (besides women, family and community development) is helmed by two female lawmakers. Her deputy is Isnaraissah Munirah. We also have the youngest MP, P. Prabakaran, an independent lawmaker from the Batu constituency.
History was written again with Gobind Singh Deo as the first Sikh minister in the Malaysian cabinet. He holds court as the minister for Communication and Multimedia.
I believe if we dig deeper into the background of each lawmaker it will lead us to more folksy anecdotes and facts of history.
But the time has come, to go beyond anecdotal specifics and to rise beyond the euphoria to create more history through our achievements in education; science and technology; healthcare; housing; economy; governance and transparency; youth development, leadership and achievements; environment management; unity; women empowerment; sports; infrastructure and transport; and many other areas pertinent to get Malaysia into the list of first world nations.
Future-proofing nation
All the above are key to engineering a successful nation but what is equally important is to look at “future-proofing” the country through Science Technology and Innovation (STI).
STI, in particular plays a critical role in developing a knowledge and an innovation based high-income nation. No country has achieved this feat without having first putting in place meaningful initiatives as the foundational building blocks.
The Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (Mabic) which publishes The Petri
Dish, the only science monthly available in the country has been immersed with the nation’s science sector for the last two decades.
Here are some grey areas that may need the pointed attention of both the minister and her deputy:
Beyond policy
Malaysia has realised the need for a strong STI initiative even as early as 1970s. In fact, we had world-renowned research institutes then. The Rubber Research Institute and the Institute for Medical Research had their flags flying high. Today, we have 56 national policies that are related to STI and under the purview of various ministries.
We are not short of STI policies but two areas for improvement are – implementation and inter-ministerial collaboration. Everything looks perfect on paper but they are yet to be translated into tangible impact.
The question is: are the “T” and “I” in “STI” given more emphasis than the “S”? I am apprehensive that this phenomenon will lead us to be technology-users and not developers.
We will not be proud owners of “homegrown technology” without strong basic research. And we are already seeing the negative impact of this. For an example, to develop our bioindustry, we are always calling for FDI and are keen in luring foreign companies to
invest.
While this is important, our landscape must have a balance of local high-end players too. This will only happen if the strong basic science exists, and that which can be translated into applied science and later into technology.
My simple example to non-technical stakeholders and decision makers is – we can only develop a herbicide or pesticide if we know the metabolic pathway of the weed or pest. That requires strong basic science.
“The question is:
are the “T” and “I” in “STI”
given more emphasis than the “S”?
I am apprehensive that this phenomenon
will lead us to be technology-users
and not developers.”
Now, that brings me to my next argument. Biotechnology is loosely defined in Malaysia. Any activities that utilise living organisms are clustered into the biotechnology industry.
Biotechnology & basic science
How much of biotechnological innovations and interventions are there in aromatherapy, cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, farming herbs, fertilisers and food supplements? Since the launch of the National Biotechnology Policy in 2005, we only have one success story – Biocon.
They too are having a serious talent retention problem as graduates tend to move to Singapore upon acquiring experience and skills. The location of Biocon favours the Lion City more than us.
Another glaring mistake by our decision makers is the attempt to adopt successful technology park models from overseas in a wholesale manner without looking back how the park gained its prominence and what was done in their early years.
Here again, the foundation is ignored. Infrastructure takes a precedence over scientific vigour and technology development.
Just like how a building without strong foundation is bound to collapse, a nation without strong foundation in basic science cannot sustain as a technocrat nation. To have the technocratic streak, we need to get back to basic science.
I hope the new ministers will not want to endorse products and technology which only saw six months of research. My easy answer to this is, we can develop products within six months, but they are as good as herbal products sold at the pasar malam.
“How much of biotechnological innovations
and interventions are there in aromatherapy,
cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, farmingherbs,
fertilisers and food supplements? Since the
launch of the National Biotechnology Policy in
2005, we only have one success story – Biocon.”
Funding
Funding is another major obstacle. Biotechnology, unlike the tech companies requires huge investment and has a long gestation period.
I have mentioned in my previous editorial that Quaker Oats took 18 years to get approval from USFDA to claim that the cereal can reduce cholesterol. And my question was, how many of our nutraceutical companies have the stamina and money to do this? This is what will help our products to penetrate the international market.
The priority given to harness our natural resources has been stretched a bit too far. It is time to reassess our priority. Look at our agriculture sector. Are we in a position to help our farmers to increase yield, fight pests and diseases and climate change?
Our rice, banana, papaya and pineapple are plagued with diseases. How much research is being done to improve crop varieties and produce seeds?
I am also glad that a number of “alphabet soup” agencies have been dissolved and am wishing for more scrutiny and coordination on the remaining ones.
A lot of stocktaking and benchmarking need to be done but must be carried out in all fairness and not by painting a rosy picture of our current STI status.
Weak links
The recently launched Academy of Sciences’ Science Outlook 2017 has hit the nail
on the head by pointing out the weak links in our STI landscape and ecosystem.
Talent development and job opportunities is another area of concern.
As a promoter of STEM and biotechnology, I am often in a dilemma to promote STEM education as careers are limited in this field, especially in the bio-based industries.
We have heard enough rhetoric about the hundreds of thousands of jobs opportunities that will be up for take for our biotechnology graduates in 2020. We have also heard that the nation needs more engineers and PhD graduates in science by 2050.
But the reality is our biotechnology, bio-based graduates and postgraduates are not
able to find jobs relevant to their training and qualifications.
The reality is the industry is not growing in tandem with the number of graduates we produce. Aren’t we giving them false hope? How many research positions are available at public research institutes and universities for postgraduates? What is the annual growth for such positions? Are there research positions for PhD graduates in the private sector?
Biotech crops
On a related matter, this issue of The Petri Dish highlights the global status of Genetically Modified (GM) or biotech crops. Biotech crops have entered mainstream agriculture since 1996, more than two decades ago and Malaysia, a dependent of important grains for our livestock and poultry industry has been consuming GM corn and soybean since the same year. Biotech crops have reduced use of pesticides and prevented the use of potent herbicides.
The merging of environment and science into a single ministry is also a good sign. I hope biotechnology or agribiotechnology will not be seen as a threat to biodiversity, instead be perceived as a tool to conserve our natural environment.
The inclusion of “Climate Change” as a component in the ministry’s portfolio should
further see agribiotechnology in good light based on scientific evidence.
Biotech crops are not silver bullets but offer solution in mitigating climate change. There are documented evidence of reduction in CO2 with the adoption of biotech crops. Modern biotechnology offers tools to develop crops that are tolerant to drought, salinity and other extreme weather conditions.
Inter-ministerial collaboration
And finally, one more on my wish list – increase in collaboration between ministries, universities, research institutes, agencies to maximise resources and minimise duplication is important.
Shedding off the “silo mentality” is a must for STI to prosper in the New Malaysia. STI has overarching applications and impact and cuts across various ministries.
The following ministries are either beneficiaries of STI or have a role to play to champion it: Agriculture and Agro-based Industries; Health; Defence; Economic Affairs; Education; Transport; Human Resources; Communication and Multimedia; Housing and Local Government; Rural Development; Youth and Sports; International Trade and Industry; Entrepreneurial Development; Primary Industries; Women, Family and Community Development; and Water, Land and Natural Resources.
Looks like nearly all the ministries have inter-ministerial roles. In fact, the 56 policies related to STI that I mentioned earlier are under all these ministries.
Agriculture, food security, waste disposal, sustainable development, disease management, renewable energy, trade, STEM education, entrepreneurship, national security, and talent development are all related to STI. This is not an inclusive list, but hope it gives an idea of the power of STI in nation building.
“Shedding off the “silo mentality” is a must
for STI to prosper in the New Malaysia.
STI has overarching applications and impact
and cuts across various ministries.”
I trust the scientific community is hopeful that the new administration will revive the glory of STI in Malaysia and put the nation back on the track. The take home message here is that the government should show seriousness in implementing STI agendas and policies.
The Petri Dish and Mabic is ready to collaborate with any ministry on this agenda. Congratulations again and best wishes for a
greater Malaysia.
