Archive for category science/technology

Pakatan Harapan has a long hard road back to restore public trust in government and national institutions although this is also a grave global problem

After nearly 21 months of the historic transition of power in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018, where PH Government could do no wrong in the first months of power in 2018 but where it could do no right last year, Pakatan Harapan has a long hard road back to restore public trust in government and national institutions although this is also a grave global problem.

A new report released last week found widespread global distrust in societal institutions – defined as government, business, NGOs and the media — despite a strong global economy, a phenomenon it deemed a “trust paradox”.

The report concluded that people’s fears about the future are driving this trend, and proposed institutions prioritize balancing competence with ethical behaviour to rebuild public trust.

The “Trust Barometer 2020” report was conducted by the communications firm Edelman, which has been running the survey for the past 20 years.

The Barometer, which aims to survey trust and credibility around the world, surveyed over 34,000 people in 28 countries. Read the rest of this entry »

No Comments

Is Malaysia ready for AI?

First of all, let me thank the Chemical Bioprocess Engineering Student Society (BIOSS) for the kind invitation to the closing ceremony of its 5th International Biotechnology Competition and Exhibition (IBCEx 2019).

Let me begin by congratulating UTM for its recent improved international university rankings – as in January this year, it was the third among 11 Malaysian universities to be ranked in the Times Higher Education (THE) Emerging Economies University ranking 2019, with University of Malaya (UM) ranked No. 18, Universiti Teknology Petronas (UTP) ranked No. 60, and Universiti Technology Malaysia (UTM) ranked No. 86; while in the latest inaugural Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings 2019, it was third among eight Malaysian universities listed in the new university global ranking after USM and University of Malaya.

All Malaysians want want to see Malaysian universities to be ranked among the world’s top universities in the world, and I urge UTM and all Malaysian universities to continue to excel themselves in academic excellence to bring distinction to the country. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments

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. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment

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. Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments

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.
Read the rest of this entry »

8 Comments

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 Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments

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. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment

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. Read the rest of this entry »

34 Comments

“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.
Read the rest of this entry »

179 Comments

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.

143 Comments