Thought Leader

Foreword by President

The Academy of Sciences Malaysia looks back proudly in 2021 as a year of achievements and a year of organisational reform designed to foster even more excellent results. The year 2021 has materialised our capability to move progressively, focusing on undertakings to better society nationwide, particularly in the science, technology, innovation, and economy (STIE) segment. Despite the challenges, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, I am proud of how the Academy has responded and the significant outcomes we have achieved.  

As we endured the pandemic, the Academy of Sciences Malaysia played a proactive role in the Malaysian COVID-19 response by joining the national discourse programmes: immunisation, vaccination, and task forces. ASM, had drafted the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) handbook in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation and translated it into several languages to ensure awareness and understanding among society.  

The efforts did not stop there. The Academy was also tasked to chair the Jawatankuasa Pembukaan Pusat Pemberian Vaksin (PPV) mobile drive-through and outreach for the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF). We had developed the SOP for Ventilation for COVID-19 and the SOP for setting up COVID-19 PPV at Places of Worship. Our team of data scientists from YSN-ASM also designed the plan for Malaysian drive-through vaccination centres, which was rolled out nationwide. 

I am delighted to make known that ASM’s flagship report, Science Outlook 2020, is a trailblazer document on many fronts. The theme ‘Unlocking the Future’ is the first ASM report to include growth trajectory modelling and strategic foresight to future-proof Malaysia’s STI policy development and implementation. Together with the inputs from our strategic partners and other relevant stakeholders, this is the first Science Outlook report that had adopted the ecosystem approach to scan Malaysia’s progress in the pillars of the economy, society, and environment within 30 years. To date, the report has been downloaded 1194 times from 28 countries.

Academy of Sciences Malaysia continues to be the nation’s STI purpose-driven agency under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. In playing the role of the thought leader and changemaker, the re-establishment of WEHAB++ committee (Water, Energy, Health, Agriculture, Biodiversity) displayed ASM’s focus on Planetary Health and other cross-cutting issues to contribute effectively to the nation. 

The re-establishment of the WEHAB++ committee will deep dive exchange of ideas and solutions related to Planetary Health. Following the previous reports and studies that we had done like Science Outlook, Small Interest Group (SIG) on COVID-19, Zoonotic Diseases, Precision Biodiversity and Blue Economy, the Academy had curated the findings and presented a paper on the Planetary Health concept to Malaysia’s High-Tech Nation Council on 5th November 2021. The paper was also accepted to be tabled in the National Science Council meeting in April 2022. 

A significant milestone for ASM in 2021 is also visible in the work and policy collaboration with multiple ministries. The Academy has been appointed by MOSTI as a strategic partner to review and update the 2016 draft of the National Nanotechnology Policy and Strategy (NNPS) to develop NNPS 2021-2030. This review provides strategic direction and strengthens the national nanotechnology sector.