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PROVIDING ADVICE TO THE GOVERNMENT ON MATTERS RELATED TO STIE OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE

The 10-10 MySTIE Framework is the operational mechanism for Malaysia’s National Policy on Science, Technology, and Innovation (NPSTI). It aims to deploy high-impact initiatives for socioeconomic development in targeted localities. ASM has adopted some takeaways from the 10 Game Changer Programmes listed in the NPSTI, such as Technology Commercialisation Accelerator (TCA) and Malaysian Science Endowment (MSE) to bridge the gap between STI and socioeconomic drivers.

ASM has also completed its flagship study, the Science Outlook 2020. This biennial report continues to be our essential evidence as it explores the progress a nd development of the STI ecosystem. The report has adopted the ecosystem approach to scan Malaysia’s progress in terms of economic development, societal well-being, as well as environmental conservation and sustainability through the lens of STI in the last 30 years.

Malaysia’s STI ecosystem needs more cohesion in infrastructure, investment, talent development, and governance management. To address this, the Research, Development, Innovation and Economic Roadmap (RDICE) was created to integrate STI into economic planning and promote demand-driven innovation. The RDICE Roadmap will implement policy decisions through the Research Management Unit (RMU) of the Economy Planning Unit (EPU).

ASM re-established the WEHAB++ committee, whose function is pertinent as they have been part of the ‘war room’ set by MOSTI to develop immediate solutions for national issues, including low STEM uptake and agricultural problems. The government recognises ASM’s expert network to address these issues, validating ASM and our expert network.

Along with the recognition and collaborative efforts throughout the years, ASM has broadened its role by showing stakeholders “how to do the how”. These projects range from Precision Biodiversity, Social Innovation Sandbox (Gamat rehabilitation and conservation), and the Wireless Bridging System. The government has utmost confidence in our expert network’s ability to deliver impactful results.

The National Science Council (NSC) is the apex decision-making body to carry out the best policies and strategies to enhance the country’s STIE sectors for the people’s well-being, socioeconomic development, and the sustainability of the country’s competitiveness. ASM has been part of the NSC by developing policies or giving input across ministries and agencies.

ASM’s work and coordination with other ministries and agencies indicates its gravitas as a trusted body that gives significant input to national policies. ASM is a strategic partner of the EPU under the Prime Minister’s Office, and has completed the roadmap on the Water Sector Transformation 2040 (WST2040) development studies.

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) entrusted ASM to undertake a business model development for the Non-Radioactive Rare Earth Elements (NR-REE) industry in Malaysia, which will then serve as a guide for relevant stakeholders. In 2022, with focus sites in Perak, the upstream, midstream, and downstream ecosystem approaches of NR-REE studies were successfully carried out.

One significant initiative that ASM championed in 2022 is the concept of Planetary Health. This idea was incorporated in several ASM studies, including Science Outlook, Zoonosis, Blue Economy, COVID-19, and Strengthening the Environmental Governance in Malaysia (SEG). The infusion of Planetary Health into these studies was instrumental in developing the Planetary Health paper, which serves as a critical framework for addressing global health challenges and understanding the linkages between human health and the environment.

ASSISTING IN UPGRADING THE TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES OF MALAYSIAN INDUSTRIAL SECTORS

Malaysian researchers must move from fundamental to translational research to make a significant impact and create an innovation ecosystem in the country. With that, the i-Connect platform was established in 2019 to facilitate collaboration between academia and industry to achieve said goal. Neutral intermediaries and the Innovation Readiness Level were key components in this initiative to ensure every prototype is industry ready.

MOSTI launched the Malaysia Open Science Platform (MOSP) initiative in 2019, led by the Malaysia Open Science Alliance in collaboration with various ministries and the Malaysian Research University Network (MRUN), to promote the global Open Science Movement. ASM signed an MoU with five research universities on 14 July 2022 to further develop MOSP. MOSP aims to improve Malaysia’s scientific data production (currently ranked 24th globally) by creating a research data-sharing ecosystem. This democratic science approach will benefit the nation, including crisis-solving capabilities.

Through recommendations from NPSTI, ASM has adopted the Malaysia Science Endowment (MSE) as a sustainable funding source for R&D. MSE aims to diminish dependence on government funding by establishing an RM2 billion reserve funded by the government and industry. This results in a projected RM100 million annual budget for research and development. The annual allocation would then be disbursed as a matching fund together with industry and international partners to ultimately achieve 75% funding from non-governmental sources – making it one of the most self-sufficient sources of STI ecosystem financing in Malaysia.

FOSTERING A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE IN STIE IN MALAYSIA

ASM wants to utilise its full potential as an effective organisation and create lasting change. Therefore, ASM is committed to equipping future talents with necessary skills to uplift themselves and the nation. The aspiration was realised by establishing the Young Scientists Network (YSN-ASM) in 2012. The network has brought together institutions, industries, and organisations to implement impactful programmes and engagements. The impact of YSN-ASM has exerted influence at all levels of Malaysia’s STI community, encapsulating schools, universities, industries, the public, and, significantly, the government.

The year 2022 marked the 10th anniversary of YSN-ASM, and I am proud to share that their voices are now represented as part of the national-level decision-making: the chairperson of YSN-ASM has been appointed as a member of the NSC. This recognition will amplify the voice of young scientists in charting the direction of Malaysia’s STIE journey.

YSN-ASM organises the annual Chrysalis Award, a flagship programme to transform PhD candidates into mature scientists by providing nurturing training throughout the programme.

For the stakeholder’s information, ASM sent six young scientists from Malaysia to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. The meeting’s objective was to have a global discussion with all scientists to exchange findings in their relevant fields. It is an excellent platform to build networks and seize opportunities to work with scientists in world-class laboratories.

For over two decades, ASM has been honoured to forge a strategic partnership with National Cancer Council (MAKNA) with a noble vision of recognising young Malaysian scientists with the highest impact on cancer research and advancement.

In alignment with the same vision, through Dr Ranjeet Bhagwan Singh’s 2022 Medical Research Trust Programmes, ASM with MOSTI continues to recognise local Malaysian scientists with cutting-edge technology in the biomedical field. These yearly programmes highlight ASM’s commitment to assist young scientists’ early careers with a seed fund, simultaneously boosting their potential to place the results of impactful scientific studies in the spotlight.

While MCRA and RBS Research Grant celebrate local talents, the Mahathir Science Award (MSA) recognises individuals or organisations that excel in Tropical Science research or findings, either locally or internationally. The 2022 MSA was awarded to the Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding Centre (ABBC) of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), marking a new milestone for the global palm oil industry.

PROMOTING PUBLIC AWARENESS IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE

The National Science Challenge is ASM’s conscious effort to build the young generation’s capacity, capability, and interest in STEM. This competition does this by honing their STEM knowledge and improving their soft skills such as communication and teamwork.

ASM’s IdeaXchange, an annual tradition since 2011, provides a platform for scientific communities to share ideas and knowledge, enhancing policy, governance, and infrastructure of STI. Leveraging ASM experts and stakeholders, the programme strengthens the country’s STIE strategy through interactive discussions and intellectual exchanges.

ASM constantly puts effort to increase public engagement in science-related matters. As such, this year YSN-ASM has published a Science Communication Module as a reference for the science community to de-jargonise scientific knowledge and improve its delivery. This effort to democratise knowledge will give rise to a society where many can quickly assess and understand ideas and knowledge and are no longer limited to highly educated groups.

ASM introduced estidotmy, its first science magazine, in 2002. Between then and 2012, over 100 thematic issues were produced and inserted in Utusan Malaysia, reaching upwards of 300,000 in monthly readership. Rebranded as e-estidotmy in 2020, ASM has made science knowledge accessible again. Readers can now easily access the latest science and technology contents on this e-magazine.

ENHANCING INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING AND COLLABORATIONS

ASM holds a strong connection with other global STI organisations. ASM maintains a solid global presence through an extensive global network to attract strategic partners with shared interests and goals.

ASM, through MOSTI, initiated the ASEAN Foresight Alliance (AFA) in 2018. The initiative presents an opportunity for stakeholders to embrace an imaginative yet realistic paradigm for strategic planning through foresight or future thinking. AFA, with the active participation of the ASEAN Foresight Research Cohort (AFRC) from each ASEAN Member State, will produce the ASEAN STI Ecosystem Foresight 2035 report aimed to be adopted at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology, and Innovation in 2024.

ASM has also been part of the Global Knowledge Dialogue organised by the International Science Council (ISC). The Global Knowledge Dialogue is a series of events by ISC in various regions of the world, starting in Africa at the World Science Forum in 2022 followed by other regions in 2023.

Our younger expert network is catching up in making Malaysia prominent among the global scientific communities. YSN-ASM members have built trusted networks in Southeast Asia to address inaccurate information about biological threats. YSN-ASM members also have become members of the World Federation for Young Scientists. Through YSN-ASM networks, the young scientists continue gaining international traction by participating in the STS forum of young leaders in Kyoto, Japan.

For the year 2022, our expert network continued to be globally recognised. They have been included as committee members and have received awards from multiple international science organisations, such as the International Science Council (ISC), the Inter-Academy Panel (IAP), The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), UNESCO Open Science Advisory Committee, Science Council of Asia (SCA) and World Organisation for Science Literacy (WOSL).

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS AND COMMUNIQUE

ASM is always determined to broaden our reach and engage more public participation to ensure ASM’s visibility and enforce corporate identity. ASM’s Communications Division work collectively with its expert network to produce various materials to disseminate ASM’s initiatives and activities to a broad range of audiences.

The ASM Press unit has been a significant part of the communication unit as the division published position papers, strategic papers, modules, strategic plans, frameworks, multi-disciplinary studies, and others written in English and Bahasa Melayu for an inclusive audience reach.

ASM Science Journal continues to become the profound platform for open access, peer-reviewed and indexed multi-disciplinary research journals with 937 articles published and 345,901 total downloads across the globe. Last year, ASM Science Journal was indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), on top of existing indexing that includes Elsevier Scopus, ASEAN Citation Index (ACI), Malaysian Citation Centre (MCC) and Google Scholar.

To ensure that the stakeholders and the public are continuously informed of ASM’s current happenings, a monthly bulletin called ASM Focus was published on the ASM website that covers programmes recap, latest publications, expert network updates and other news.

Keeping the expert network well informed of the ASM’s affairs and updates is vital as the network is vast and spread across the country and globally. As President, I take pride in putting together a message twice a year via “Message from The President” to personally get in touch with our network of experts to communicate ASM’s recent initiatives and achievements. This is also an opportunity for our network to provide feedback and participate in the activities that are taking place.

ASM’s communications capability continued its success in 2022, enabling expertise and the voice of our expert network to reach the public via mainstream media and our growing social media audiences. Throughout the past year, ASM had multiple media stories or mentions across local news broadcasts, prints and online. The recent launch of the ASM Podcast has also been well-received by listeners. ASM is also one of the few agencies fully utilising all six leading social media platform: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok, with a community strength of almost 55,000 total followers.

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