SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IMPORTANT IN ECONOMIC PLANNING - PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday it
is imperative that science, technology and innovation (STI) be prioritised in
the mainstream of economic planning if STI is to be a primary driver to fuel an
innovation economy for the nation.


In this context, Najib said that Malaysia needed to benchmark itself with
countries such as South Korea, Japan, India and China, all of which had made
significant progress by embracing the full capacity of STI.

Najib said given the unprecedented challenges and demands of today's
globalised environment, the country's economic progress and competitiveness
would be increasingly determined by how well "we manage and enhance our
knowledge resources and technological assets, as well as the extent to which we
are able to embed STI in every sector of the economy".

"We must then re-examine how we manage and deploy our resources for STI, in
particular for research and development, and find ways to reap maximum benefits
from our investment," he said in his speech at the Mahathir Science Award 2008
and 2009 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here Monday night.

The Award is Malaysia's most pretigious international award for tropical
sciences and was launched by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) in honour of
former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose contribution to science and
technology advancement has been hailed not only in Malaysia, but also
internationally.

Najib said that in doing so, the key element was the need to develop high
calibre STI human capital in Malaysia, and in this aspect, the country needed
more scientists and researchers, innovators and also needed pioneers in science
and technology.

He said the target under the Ninth Malaysia Plan was to have 60 researchers,
scientists and engineers (RSEs) per 10,000 workforce but at the moment the
country only achieved 18 RSEs per 10,000 workforce.

Describing this as clearly far from satisfactory and that something must be
done to improve the situation, the Prime Minister stressed that the country must
identify the reasons for the inability to nurture a bigger number of science
professionals.

"If it is due to brain drain, we must find ways of reversing it. We must
bring the talents home and provide incentives to keep them home. Whatever it
takes we must address the shortfall in scientific talent. We must invest in
building a strong R&D base and sustainable pool of talent in the various
diciplines of science," he said.

Najib pointed out that the critical requirement for Malaysia would be to
have a competitive edge by generating and owning indigenous technology platforms
and scientific discoveries and in order to achieve this, it must be recognised
that it was vital for the nation to have a balanced strength in basic and
applied research.

The Prime Minister said that the quantum leap forward could only happen by
way of greater and far more widespread innovation in all economic activities.

"There is no more time for "business as usual". It is time for us to pull
ahead of the herd. It is time for us to strive to become extraordinary," he
said.

Najib also said that Malaysia cannot afford to neglect the development of
strategic and basic science research in its quest for quick value added products
and services and adding that the two aspects must be developed strategically and
concurrently.

According to the Prime Minister, Malaysia's aspiration to become a developed
nation by the year 2020 cannot be achieved without further and continuous
progress in the nation's capabilities in science, technology and innovation.

"Malaysia, having transitioned from an agricultural-based economy in the
post-independence era to a resource and manufacturing based economy in the 80s
and 90s is now faced with the challenge of shifting to an innovation-led
economy," he said.
--BERNAMA