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As the Academy pursues the aspiration to become an independent Thought Leader in STIE, the ASM Strategic Plan 2021-2025 charts the way for ASM to become a Changemaker guided by the philosophy, ‘Build Inside, Deploy Outside’.

ASM continues to enhance organisational agility without jeopardising our integrity through good governance and maintaining the highest level of professionalism.

ASM Council

The ASM Council is the governing body of ASM established under the Academy of Sciences Malaysia Act 1994. ASM Council is responsible for carrying out the 14 functions of the Academy as well as to manage its affairs. They ensure that ASM remains an independent and credible body in championing matters of science, technology, innovation, and economy that are of national importance. The Council is also responsible to administer the ASM Fund.

Composition and Selection of ASM Council

ASM Council comprise of Fellows of the Academy. Its membership consists of 16 positions; the President, Vice-President, Secretary-General, Honorary Treasurer and 12 Ordinary Council Members.

ASM President is appointed from amongst Fellows for a three-year term by the SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong based on recommendation of the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI). ASM President is eligible to be reappointed for the second term provided that the person does not hold the position for consecutive six years.   

Besides ASM President, other members of The Council are nominated by ASM Fellows from amongst Fellows. During the Annual General Meeting that takes place each year, Fellows elect the incoming Council members. Fellows elected for the position of Vice-President, Secretary-General, Honorary Treasurer, and 12 Ordinary Council Members are eligible to serve the position for a two-year term. At the end of their term, they are also eligible to be renominated for the same position provided the person does not hold the same position for four consecutive years.

Each year, several Council positions fall vacant and new members will be elected to fill the positions at the Annual General Meeting. The occurrence of outgoing and incoming Council members allows Fellows to take part in the governance of the Academy apart from ensuring sustainability and continuity of ASM policies.

Conflict of Interest

Council members are required to declare their involvement, directly or indirectly in any of the agenda tabled to ASM Council. Should a Council member declare their conflict of interest, the respective person will be required to abstain from the decision-making process and remain absent for the duration of the respective agenda. This will be recorded in the minutes of meeting.

Role of President and CEO

The roles and responsibilities of the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) are demarcated separately. The President is the Leader of ASM and leads ASM Council in determining ASM’s direction, policies, principles and stand, and the activities. President also leads discussions on all matters that are brought to the attention of Council. The President, together with other EXCO members, ensures that all Council decisions are translated into executive actions. ASM President carries out the duties on a pro-bono basis during the term of his/her appointment and is not salaried by ASM.

Whereas CEO is the chief controlling officer of ASM and is responsible to lead ASM Management and oversee the overall administration matters. CEO’s role includes  strategising and translating Council decision into executive actions based on ASM’s existing strategies, policies, and procedures. The CEO is appointed by ASM Council and is a civil servant salaried by ASM.

Council Meetings and Members Attendance

ASM Council Meetings are to be chaired by ASM President. The Council Meetings will discuss matters that requires approval, deliberation, and notification. The following are reports presented at ASM Council Meetings:

  1. Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting (EXCO)
  2. Report of Finance Committee
  3. Report of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Advisory Committee (STIPAC)
  4. Report of Membership Committee
  5. Report of Audit Committee
  6. Report on KPI for ASM and Ministry

Besides the above-mentioned reports, ASM Management also tables proposals for ASM to carry out new programmes or studies for Council’s approval and update on the ongoing programmes or studies.

In the year 2022, ASM Council has convened five meetings. The following are the dates of the meetings:

148th Meeting 10 March 2022 online meeting
149th Meeting 20 May 2022 online meeting
150th Meeting 28 July 2022 online meeting
151st Meeting 26 October 2022 online meeting
152nd Meeting 13 December 2022 hybrid meeting

The attendance of Council members in 2022 meetings is provided as follows:

Council Members

Number of Meetings Attended

Percentage of Attendance

Professor Emerita Datuk Dr Asma Ismail FASc

5/5

100%

Professor Dato’ Ir Dr A. Bakar Jaafar FASc

3/5

60%

Academician Datin Paduka Setia Dato’ Dr Aini Ideris FASc

5/5

100%

Professor Datuk Dr Awg Bulgiba Awg Mahmud FASc

4/5

80%

Academician Tan Sri Dato’ Ir Ts Ahmad Zaidee Laidin FASc

5/5

100%

Academician Professor Datin Paduka Dr Khatijah Mohd Yusoff FASc

4/5

80%

Professor Dato’ Dr Ahmad Ibrahim FASc

4/5

80%

Dr Helen Nair FASc

4/5

80%

Professor Dato’ Dr Jafri Malin Abdullah FASc

5/5

100%

Professor Dr Mahendhiran Sanggaran Nair FASc

4/5

80%

Dr Hj Mohamad Kamal Hj Harun FASc

3/5

60%

Professor Dato’ Ir Dr Mohd Saleh Jaafar FASc

5/5

100%

Professor Dr Noorsaadah Abd Rahman FASc

5/5

100%

Emeritus Professor Dr Phang Siew Moi FASc

3/5

60%

Professor Dr Yvonne Lim Ai Lian FASc

3/5

60%

Dato’ Seri Ir Dr Zaini Ujang FASc

3/5

60%

No remuneration is paid to Council members. However, they receive meeting allowance when they attend Council meetings. President, as the chair of the meeting, is paid RM750 per meeting while RM500 per meeting is paid to members.

Availability of Information

Council Members are provided online access to the meeting documents at least three days prior to the meetings. Each member is required to study the documents and agenda provided before the meeting for an effective meeting. The Council Meeting document consists of at least the following matters:

  1. Minutes of the last meeting
  2. Committee Reports requiring Council’s approval
  3. Report on ASM programmes and studies

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Annual General Meeting

The 27th Annual General Meeting which was held online on 28 May 2022 was attended by 173 Fellows. The Meeting endorsed the minutes of 26th AGM as well as approved the Financial Statements ending 31 December 2021 and the 2021 Annual Report to be tabled at the Parliament. The 2021 ASM Annual Report was approved by Dewan Rakyat on 4 April 2023 and Dewan Negara on 10 April 2023.

Besides that, the 27th AGM elected 39 new Fellows for the year 2022. The newly elected Fellows are:

Biological, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

  • Dr Tan Chon Seng FASc
  • Professor Dr Vijay Kumar FASc
  • Professor Dr Clemente Michael Wong Vui Ling FASc
  • Professor Ts Dr Mohd Effendy Abd Wahid FASc
  • Professor Dr Ida Idayu Muhamad FASc
  • Professor Datin Dr Siti Nor Akmar Abdullah FASc

Chemical Sciences

  • Professor Dr Wong Tin Wui FASc
  • Professor Dr Charles Santhanaraju Vairappan FASc
  • Professor Dr Zainudin Arifin FASc

Engineering Sciences

  • Professor Dr Mohd Razman Salim FASc
  • Professor Ir Dr Siti Kartom Kamaruddin FASc
  • Professor Ir Dr Fatimah Ibrahim FASc
  • Professor Ir Dr Lim Yun Seng FASc
  • Professor Ts Dr Safian Sharif FASc
  • Datuk Ir Dr Azuhan Mohamed P Geol FASc
  • Professor Dr M Iqbal Saripan FASc
  • Professor Dr Lim Eng Hock FASc
  • Professor Ir Dr Haslenda Hashim FASc
  • Professor Ir Dr Shaliza Ibrahim CEng FIChemE FASc

Information Technology & Computer Sciences

  • Professor Ir Dr Aduwati Sali FASc
  • Dr Mahamod Ismail FASc
  • Professor Datin Dr Sameem Abdul Kareem FASc

Mathematics, Physics and Earth Sciences

  • Professor Ts Dr Kasturi Devi Kanniah FASc
  • Dr Saim Suratman P Geol FASc

Medical and Health Sciences

  • Professor Dr Cheah Fook Choe FASc
  • Professor Dr Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy FASc
  • Professor Dr Lee Yeong Yeh FASc
  • Professor Dr Chua Kek Heng FASc

Science & Technology Development and Industry

  • Dato’ Indera Dr Hj Ahmad Sabirin Arshad FASc
  • Professor Datuk Ir Ts Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir FASc
  • Datin Paduka Dr Fatimah Mohamed Arshad FASc
  • Dato’ Dr Zairossani Mohd Nor FASc
  • Dr Faridah Hanim Ab Hanan FASc
  • Dr Hjh Hafsah Mohd Ghazaly FASc
  • Ts Dr Chantara Thevy Ratnam FASc

Social Sciences and Humanities

  • Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Ahmat Adam FASc
  • Professor Datuk Dr Jayum Anak Jawan FASc
  • Professor Datuk Dr Mad Nasir Shamsuddin FASc
  • Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Osman Bakar FASc

At the 27th AGM, the post of Vice-President and four Ordinary Council Members fall vacant. The following Fellows were elected as Council Members for the term 2022-2024:

  1. Professor Dato’ Ir Dr A. Bakar Jaafar FASc as the Vice-President
  2. Professor Dato’ Dr Ahmad Ibrahim FASc as an Ordinary Council Member
  3. Professor Dato’ Ir Dr Saleh Jaafar FASc as an Ordinary Council Member
  4. Professor Dr Yvonne Lim Ai Lian FASc as an Ordinary Council Member
  5. Dato’ Seri Ir Dr Zaini Ujang FASc as an Ordinary Council Member

President announced, at the 27th AGM, the appointment of two ASM Fellows as Senior Fellows. The appointment is made by ASM Council based on recommendation from a Special Panel. The newly appointed Senior Fellows for the year 2022 are as follows:

Academician Datin Paduka Setia Dato’ Dr Aini Ideris FASc in recognition of her outstanding achievements and contributions as an eminent researcher on avian viral diseases, high-profile leadership roles in education and her profession, and her consistent and active involvement in ASM activities.

Academician Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak FASc in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions in educational leadership, prolific writings on sustainability, societal issues, morality and ethics in Science, Technology and Innovation.

ASM Committees

ASM Council establishes various committees and delegates its responsibilities to these committees to ensure smooth operations of ASM. As such, ASM Council holds the authority to establish a committee and appoint its Chairperson. ASM Council also reviews the performance of its committees from time to time and closes the committees which has completed its task.

Some of the various committees include working committees, task forces, and Special Interest Group to carry out its programmes and studies. Each committee is represented by members of ASM Expert Network especially ASM Fellows. In 2022, there were 36 committee and 30 task forces being established by ASM Council.

Executive Committee (EXCO)

The Executive Committee known as EXCO is responsible to monitor and oversee the affairs of the Academy apart from supporting the implementation of ASM functions. EXCO is often referred to by ASM Management for urgent approval and advise in managing the day-to-day operations of the Academy. The Committee also deliberates and review programme proposals and draft ASM policies prior to tabling the paper to ASM Council for approval.

EXCO, comprising of President, Vice-President, Secretary-General and Honorary Treasurer convenes at least four times a year. The EXCO meetings are chaired by ASM President. This year, ASM EXCO met six times.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee is responsible to oversee the planning, implementation and monitoring of procedures, system and financial reporting related to the financial of ASM.

The functions of Finance Committee comprise of the following:

  • Arrange and control the finance of ASM;
  • Consider and endorse the estimated yearly budget for ASM and seek Council’s approval;
  • Review and endorse the yearly Financial Statements of ASM and seek Council’s approval;
  • Provide advise related to investment;
  • Review the investments performance reports of ASM Funds;
  • Approve finance and accounts related policies and recommend the adoption of government circulars if relevant to ASM;
  • Receive any ASM’s financial position report from time to time; and
  • Approve the disposal request of ASM asset and write-off of debts.

The Finance Committee is chaired by the Honorary Treasurer and the Committee consists of at least six members from among Fellows. The Finance Committee convenes its meetings at least six times a year. In 2022, the committee convened six meetings.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is established to improve the internal control of ASM and identify weak points in management and governance of ASM. The chair of the Audit Committee is appointed by ASM Council. The Committee comprise of four other members and convenes its meetings at least four times a year.

The Audit Committee is responsible to establish yearly audit activities which includes audit charter and conduct study on the capacity and effectiveness of ASM internal control. The Committee reports to ASM Council should any malpractice is found and requires action.

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee is chaired by the Vice-President with 18 members including the Secretary-General and Chair of discipline groups. The Committee is responsible in guarding the quality of ASM membership. As such, they recommend policies, procedures, and strategies to maintain a well-balanced pool of expertise amongst its members in supporting the needs of the Academy. They also oversee the selection process of new Fellows and appointment of Associates. Besides that, the Committee is also responsible to manage the matters of membership affairs.

This Committee is required to at least convene its meetings twice a year to recommend suitable nominees for consideration as Fellows and Associates to ASM Council for approval.

Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Advisory Committee (STIPAC)

The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Advisory Committee (STIPAC) is responsible to coordinate, consolidate, and evaluate study proposals or reports that are being prepared by the study committees. STIPAC ensures that all recommendations put forward by ASM through various study reports, reviews and proposal are positioned to fulfil the importance of the nation. All proposal papers or study reports must be approved by STIPAC prior to submission to relevant ministries.   

The STIPAC meetings are chaired by President with members of at least 12. The members of STIPAC consist of chairs or representatives of eight Disciplines and several other committees which are deemed strategic and relevant.  STIPAC meetings are convened at least four times a year. This year, STIPAC met seven times.

Our People

ASM Management is led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and assisted by three Chief Officers in regulating, monitoring, and managing the operations of ASM.

ASM Management comprise of staff from the Higher Management Group (1%), Management and Professional Group (69%), and the Support Group (30%). The Management team are civil servants appointed and salaried by ASM. 9% amongst ASM staff are permanent appointees while 91% are appointed under the Contract of Services (CoS) scheme. A total of 40 Analysts, 31 Executives, and 32 support staff carries out the planned studies and programmes as well as manage the administration and finance of ASM. In 2022, the management had organised more than 100 numbers of activities and initiatives.

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Following is the ASM organisation structure:

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FROM THE DESK OF CEO,

HAZAMI HABIB

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At ASM, we began the year with one focus in our minds, to be ‘a Changemaker’. We understand that the change we aspire not only needs a ‘plan’, but the ‘will’ to execute it. The Management, with the leadership of the President and Council members, continued to pursue the mission of ASM.

A vigorous year

This year marks an important milestone in our journey. The newly established ASM Chapters at the East Coast region, Sabah, and Sarawak was deployed to reach out to the scientific community and carry out activities that will benefit its local community. The presence of the Chapters was intended to indirectly increase the visibility of ASM and the involvement of the community outside Klang Valley in ASM’s activities.

Another milestone would be the establishment of 10 WEHAB++ Committees to provide STI related input on sectoral based issues of national importance. The Committees served as a referral point for ASM. An example would be the ASM Agriculture Committee which came timely with the food security issues faced by the nation at that time. Experts from various disciplines and sectors congregated through the ASM Agriculture Committee and provided advisory input directly to the government.

ASM also charted a new journey by venturing into social innovation projects, such as the Proof of Concept on Wireless Bridging Project at a remote village and the Gamat Rehabilitation Project in Langkawi. Although implementing such project is like going into an unventured territory, these projects provided new experience to ASM team and the opportunity for ASM to showcase impactful approach using STIE to give solution directly to the society. We truly believe that STI must not only be heard or seen but must also be felt by the community.

In 2022, we have seen an increase in collaboration work with various ministries, state governments and international bodies. Among the notable projects include ASM’s involvement in developing the Business Model for the Ion-Adsorption Clay Rare Earths Elements (IACREE) with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) and Perak State Government. We have also worked on the strengthening of STIE capacity at Sabah state at various level with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Sabah (KSTI) as well as the introduction of 10-10 MySTIE Framework in the planning of State programmes with Sarawak Government.

Funding and Operations

For the year 2022, ASM received an income of RM19,773,638. This income was majorly contributed by the annual operating grant received for ASM’s office operations, supplies, and staff emolument amounting to RM13,500,000. Apart from that, ASM used RM1,945,923 from the ASM Fund to cover the expenses of ASM programmes and activities. In 2022, ASM has managed eight deferred grant and one deferred development grant.

Following the extension of the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre (ISTIC) by the Malaysian Government, ASM signed a MoU with UNESCO to host the Centre. ASM provided a funding of RM250,000 from its annual operating grant to ISTIC to kick-off its operations in 2022. For a full report on ASM financial performance, refer to the Audited 2022 Financial Statements.

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2022 Achievements in a Nutshell

Overall, a total of 133 activities were planned to be carried out for the year 2022 to materialise the ASM Strategic Plan 2021-2022. In addition, there were also another 31 activities added-on. By the end of the year, ASM Management has managed to complete 125 out of 164 total activities. The pending activities were realigned and planned to be completed by Q1 2023. The snapshot is as follows:

Positive Work Environment

ASM has established the ‘Majlis Bersama Jabatan’ with the support from MOSTI and convened its first meeting on 11 April 2022, chaired by ASM CEO. The members consist of nine representatives of the employees and eight representatives of the employers. The ASM MBJ serves as the channel for employees to provide suggestions to improve productivity and resolve issues faced by them.

We continued to improve the conditions of ASM workspace to ensure a safe working zone at all times. Thus, we have installed air purifier units, repaired office premises, and uplifted the office, especially at ASM Jalan Tun Ismail, KL. The audio-visual facilities at ASM meeting rooms and function hall were also upgraded to enhance the effectiveness of meetings conducted in-house.

We continued our effort to build a stronger team. Many engagement programmes were held to promote motivation and happiness at work. Programmes such as Kongsi Dengar, team building, year-end appreciation, and monthly birthday celebration among staffs become the catalyst for bonding and improve understanding at work.

Challenges

The progress of an organisation very much depends on the sustainability of its people. Like any other organisation, ASM too faces an outflux of its talents. In the last 3 years, ASM has seen 46 of its staff moving to greener pastures. Getting the right talent timely and training them to meet the expectation has been a huge challenge. We hope that someday, ASM could maintain a core team on a permanent basis to safeguard the tacit knowledge, institutional values, and memory that matters most.

Acknowledgment

The year would not be possible without the leadership and guidance of ASM Council. I must record our highest appreciation to ASM’s fifth President, Professor Emerita Datuk Dr Asma Ismail FASc for her unwavering support, dedication, and pursuance to excellence, which made us grow to who we are today.

The contribution and expertise input of Fellows, members of YSN-ASM, TRSM recipients, and Associates in ASM activities have enabled ASM to deliver its mandate effectively as the STIE Thought Leader to the nation. I am also grateful to have a committed and passionate team who believes in delivering the best! Thank you to the colleagues at the ministries especially the Ministers of STI and Secretary-General of MOSTI for the facilitation and support towards the growth of ASM.

I am confident that the coming year would be no less than what we have faced. Perhaps our experiences will be a stepping stone to achieve better results. I thank 2022 for the lessons and I welcome 2023.

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