MALAYSIA CAN ACHIEVE HIGH-INCOME STATUS WITH INNOVATIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION - EXPERT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia can achieve the high-income status
of RM15,000 (US$5,000), per capita by 2020 if it continues to implement various
innovations in higher education, according to a member of the Higher Education
Leadership Academy (AKEPT) advisory board.

Dr Ahmad Zaidee Laidin said Thursday that currently, the country was in
the middle-income stage, with RM7,000 (US$2,333) per capita. The goal to achieve
a target income of RM15,000 was on track and could be achieved before 2020, he
added.

"However, it is not easy to achieve this if innovation and reward systems
are taken for granted," he said, during a speech entitled "Merging the
Government and Economic Transformation Plan with the National Higher Education
Strategic Plan and Capacity Building: Research and Innovation for Future Higher
Income Nation", here.

He noted that the nation would only move forward if both systems were taken
into consideration and implemented continuously.

Meanwhile, Science University Malaysia Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and
Innovation) Prof Dr Asma Ismail pointed out that systems should not be too
stringent in order to promote innovation.

"It does take time for our country to attain a higher income status due to
the fact that Malaysia's innovation is not yet well known, especially because it
comes from public universities," she said.

She pointed out that it would also take time to gain public confidence and,
as such, resources and a pioneering mindset were crucial for creating new
knowledge.

The two-day talk, which began Thursday, welcomed 80 academicians from public
universities and government agencies. The talk dealt with strategic initiatives
to transform the country into a world-class research centre to create a high-income economy.