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Malaysia’s Broken Biotech Dreams

By Wan Izzuddin Sulaiman
Asia Sentinel
October 22, 2015

Aspirations to make the country a major biotech player are mostly a failure

A decade ago, then-Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi ushered Malaysia into the biotech era with the opening of the BioMalaysia 2005 conference, aimed at making the country a global player by building a conducive environment for R&D through leveraging existing strengths, particularly in biodiversity and bio-resources.

But that policy lies in a shambles, having eaten up huge amounts of money and having produced almost nothing of value. The 15-year master plan (2005-2020) crafted by the late Jamaluddin Jarjis, then the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), who unfortunately was killed on April 4, 2015 in a helicopter crash, has almost been abandoned.

Among the main biological processes that catapulted the biotechnology revolution worldwide are the genetic manipulation of microorganisms for the production of new drugs, the cloning and manipulation of selected genes in animals and crops to introduce improved varieties, the sequencing of the entire genome including the human one to better understand diseases, and the use of stem-cells in curing chronic diseases. These technologies were mainly originated in laboratories operated by leading universities and research institutions, mostly in the developed countries. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Broken Biotech Dreams”

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Bill Gates Also Worries Artificial Intelligence Is A Threat

Eric Mack
Forbes
1/28/2015

Aside from founding Microsoft, Bill Gates is known as an all-around smart guy who has put his money where his mouth is when it comes to saving the world. It would seem that this makes his opinions worth considering when he tells us that he, like fellow brainiac Stephen Hawking and Tesla Motors founder / Iron Man inspiration Elon Musk, fears that artificial intelligence could pose a threat to humanity.

In a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Wednesday, Gates echoed the concerns expressed over the past year by Hawking, Musk and others that something vaguely resembling the science fiction scenarios from the Terminator and Matrix franchises could come to pass if the potential of artificial superintelligence is not taken seriously. Continue reading “Bill Gates Also Worries Artificial Intelligence Is A Threat”

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TIMSS study show students from progressive high tech countries score high marks in science and maths

By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor

The 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) shows that students from developed countries are the top scorers and they are the movers and engineers responsible to make their countries progressive and prosperous.

Hogging the top places are Singapore, Taipei, S. Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, England, United States and Russia, with scores from 10 and above.

Unfortunately Malaysia had low scores of 3 and are seen in the company of Indonesia, Colombia, Georgia, Ukraine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Botswana, Algeria, etc.

Malaysia at independence was as rich as Japan and had a high per capita income. But now Malaysia has been overtaken by Singapore, Taipei, S. Korea and Hong Kong. They progressed faster because of better education in science, maths and engineering.
Continue reading “TIMSS study show students from progressive high tech countries score high marks in science and maths”

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Hackers ‘steal entire 2011 census’

By Christopher Williams
21 Jun 2011 | The Telegraph

The entire 2011 UK census database has been stolen by hackers and will be published online, it has been claimed.

Ryan Cleary, an alleged member of the hacking group behind the claim, LulzSec, was arrested in Essex this morning by specialist cyber crime officers from Scotland Yard.

The 19-year-old was taken to a central London police station and remains in custody on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act offences Continue reading “Hackers ‘steal entire 2011 census’”

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Mimos – 25 years and going strong

By KJ John
Jun 7, 11 | MalaysiaKini

This series of three columns I will call the 25th anniversary series. Three organisations I have been connected with have celebrated their 25th anniversary this year. First, let me congratulate Mimos Berhad for its 25th anniversary celebrations.

I hear it was a genuine occasion for celebration given the Mimos 2.0 version and their “outputs” in terms of the idea productisation vide patents and IPs registered were on public display. I was not there. I was with the National IT Council (NITC) and Mimos for only eight years between 1996 and 2004, whereas those who were publicly recognised were the original founders; all who go back from the very beginning of Mimos in 1985. Continue reading “Mimos – 25 years and going strong”

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Is Telekom Malaysia trying to kill REDtone?

The Second Finance Minister, Datuk Nor Mohd Yakcop gave a most unsatisfactory reply in Parliament yesterday to the mountain of questions by MPs, mostly from Pakatan Rakyat, about the award of the RM11.3 billion High Speed Broadband (HSBB) monopoly to Telekom Malaysia, together with a RM2.4 billion subsidy with taxpayers’ money.

I stood up during thd 2009 Budget debate on the Finance Ministry to ask whether the government is prepared to review its award of the HSBB project to Telekom Malaysia or to allow the building of another HSBB network as there is an offer by another company to do so without a single sen of subsidy in order to promote broadband liberalization and enhance competition.

To this question and those by other MPs on the rationale of awarding the HSBB to Telekom which will encourage Telekom monopoly and discourage broadband liberalisation, Nor Mohd gave an ambivalent reply saying that the government was prepared to review the HSBB project if necessary – which means nothing at all.

Either the government is reviewing the HSBB project awarded to Telekom towards calling for a proper tender to be called or it is not reviewing at all!

The arguments for and against the RM11.3 billion HSBB award to Telekom Malaysia and the government subsidy of RM2.4 billion had been canvassed in Parliament during the winding-up by the Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dato Shaziman bin Abu Mansor in the 2009 Budget policy debate on November 3, 2008. Continue reading “Is Telekom Malaysia trying to kill REDtone?”

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“Results of space tests out soon” – Opinion

[Dr. Lee Wei Lim, a a Marie Curie Fellow and Malaysian brain scientist in Maastricht University, the Netherlands, has several queries on today’s Star report “Results of space tests out soon” re: Angkasawan Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.
[Dr. Lee’s comments (in bold) accomapnies the Star report viz:]

Results of space tests out soon

PENANG: The results of experiments carried out in space by Angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor will be released next month.

The experiment was carried out at the International Space Station or in the “Space” ?

The results of various experiments with proteins and the effects of micro-gravity and space radiation on cells and microbes would be shared with international researchers soon, the country’s first cosmonaut said during the closing of Brain Awareness Week 2008 at Universiti Sains Malaysia yesterday.
Continue reading ““Results of space tests out soon” – Opinion”

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Congrats to Sheikh Muszaphar as Malaysia’s first angkasawan

Congratulations to Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor as Malaysia’s first angkasawan, orbiting in space to the International Space station — 360 km above the earth.

It is a feat Malaysians can feel proud.

We must however ensure that Malaysia can follow up and take a quantum leap in advances in science and technology and not be like Saudi Arabia, which sent the first Muslim into space more than two decades ago in 1985 in the United States space shuttle Discovery but the desert state has little to show in terms of building a science and technology research and development sector beyond oil and petrochemicals.

The government must also learn from the mistakes of the programme to send the first Malaysian to space, as it had been mired in controversy at almost every stage, from its genesis, conception and selection as well as its transparency and accountability.

The lift-off programme last night would have been more fitting the nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary if an inter-faith prayer session had been held to give blessings for a successful launch as Malaysia is sending a Malaysian who is a Muslim into space and not a Muslim who happen to be a Malaysian.