24th Annual General Meeting

The 24^th Annual General Meeting was held following the 12^th General Assembly on 27 April 2019 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre.

During the AGM, ASM President Professor Datuk Dr Asma Ismail FASc addressed the current state of science, technology and innovation (STI) of the country through her Presidential Address.

Datuk Asma stated that for the nation to achieve excellence in STI in pursuit of a progressive, harmonious, prosperous and sustainable Malaysia, it must exhibit the level of passion and devotion it had back in the early days. Our passion and devotion paved the way for Malaysia’s success in the commodities sector with oil palm and rubber, as well as the health sector through novel discoveries in tropical diseases.

Fast forward to the present, and she highlighted the advent of emerging fields in science, well-established disciplines being shaken up by new questions that challenge conventional knowledge and convergence of disciplines that result in new insights and astounding revelations.

Having the passion as mentioned earlier and devotion would ensure Malaysia has the upper hand in finding our strength in STI to pursue and excel in them.

Continuing her address, Datuk Asma urged the nation to appreciate the knowledge in science and technology and realise the power of digital technology as a powerful enabler for the country to embrace the digital economy.

She stated that it is imperative for Malaysia to have a strong political will to drive this agenda forward; ASM has elaborated extensively on the importance of holistic and dynamic governance to create a robust STI ecosystem in its Science Outlook 2017 report.

In making this leap towards excellence in science, Datuk Asma acknowledges the growing pains will be inevitably experienced brought about by the massive shift.

“Fundamental changes are sweeping the nation, and new norms will make adjustments necessary. We need to think about what we missed in the past two decades when we failed to maximise the use of science and technology to develop and build a nation ready for a digital economy,” said Datuk Asma.

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Every year, ASM welcomes a new batch of prolific and distinguished Malaysian cognoscenti into its stellar line-up of honourable ASM Fellows.

Nominated Fellows have gone through a rigorous selection process at the discipline group level, and the final selection process takes place during the Annual General Meeting. The Academy has elected these Fellows based on their scientific and scholarly achievements.

Out of the hundreds of nominations, 27 were selected for their outstanding contributions to various sciences.

The 2019 ASM Fellows are:

Biological, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

• Professor Dr Abdul Rahman Omar FASc
• Professor Dr K Sudesh Kumar C Kanapathi Pillai FASc
• Professor Dr Mohd Talib Latif FASc
• Professor Dr Raja Noor Zaliha Raja Abd Rahman FASc
• Professor Dr Tan Chin Ping FASc
• Professor Dr Tan Wen Siang FASc

Chemical Sciences

• Professor Dr Khozirah Shaari FASc
• Professor Dr Rusli Daik FASc
• Professor Dr Yatimah Alias FASc

Engineering Sciences

• Professor Dr Dominic Foo Chwan Yee FASc
• Professor Dato’ Ir Dr Eric Goh Kok Hoe FASc
• Professor Dato’ Ir Dr Kamal Nasharuddin Mustapha FASc
• Emeritus Professor Ir Dr Masjuki Hassan FASc
• Ir Ts Mohamed Haniffa Abdul Hamid FASc
• Professor Dr Nik Meriam Nik Sulaiman FASc
• Professor Ir Dr Nor Aishah Saidina Amin FASc

Mathematics, Physics and Earth Sciences

• Professor Dr Chong Kok Keong FASc
• Professor Ir Dr Sulaiman Wadi Harun FASc
• Professor Dr Zainal Abidin Talib FASc

Medical and Health Sciences

• Dr Cheong Sok Ching FASc
• Professor Dato’ Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abu Hassan FASc
• Professor Dr Tan Kay Sin FASc
• Professor Dr Wong Kum Thong FASc
• Professor Dato’ Dr Zainal Ariff Abdul Rahman FASc

Science & Technology Development and Industry

• Mr Loganathan Ponnambalam FASc

Social Sciences and Humanities

• Dr Madeline Berma FASc
• Professor Dato’ Paduka Dr Tengku Aizan Tengku Abdul Hamid FASc

The Fellowship of the Academy is a recognition given to Malaysian citizens who are outstanding scientists, engineers and technologists. The recognition of Fellows is for life and carries the abbreviation of “FASc” to be used after the recipient’s name.

New Fellows are elected annually at the Annual General Meeting after going through a stringent selection process.

Fellows are categorised according to their expertise and grouped according to disciplines. To date, ASM has 377 Fellows in eight discipline groups.

Fellows are welcomed to contribute to ASM by leading working committees or becoming a member of one, or publishing articles, reviews and commentaries in the ASM Journal; Fellows could also take part in the governance as an elected Council Member.