KUALA LUMPUR: The government through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation aims to produce Nobel Prize winners by continuously strengthening the nation's Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) ecosystem.
Its minister, Chang Lih Kang, emphasised Malaysia's dedication to cultivating a robust and dynamic environment for scientific advancement.
"We hope for Malaysia to produce Nobel Prize winners who can serve as an inspiration in enhancing Malaysia's science, technology and innovation ecosystem.
"The ministry is dedicated to creating an innovative research environment that can progress Malaysia as a global leader in STI," he said during the opening of the Nobel Laureate Lecture by Sir Paul Nurse.
Currently, the Higher Education Ministry is implementing initiatives to foster Nobel Prize-winning thinking in local universities.
Meanwhile, the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) has conducted several programmes such as lectures, scientific discussions and motivational sessions by Nobel Prize winners from 1999 to 2009.
Additionally, since 2004, Malaysia through ASM has sent 84 young scientists to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings.
These young scientists have the opportunity to attend lectures, discussions and informal gatherings with Nobel Prize winners based on the annual themes.
ASM President academician Datuk Dr Tengku Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen said the National Nobel Laureate Programme had raised awareness of the Nobel Prize in Malaysia and contributed to the development and visibility of highly skilled Malaysian scientists, some of whom have become members of Nobel Prize-winning research teams.
The National Institute of Biotechnology Malaysia (NIBM) chief executive officer Professor Datuk Wira Dr Raha Abdul Rahim highlighted the significant role of biotechnology in advancing health, strongly supported by scientific foundations as demonstrated through Nobel programmes.
"The ministry also supports biotechnology initiatives through NIBM and provides research grants in the fields of Medicine & Health, Environment, Biodiversity, Water & Food, Agriculture & Forestry," he added.
ASM and NIBM jointly organised the Nobel Laureate Lecture by Sir Paul Nurse, the recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of key regulators of the cell cycle.
Paul, a geneticist and cell biologist, studied how the eukaryotic cell cycle is controlled, focusing particularly on cyclin-dependent protein kinases and their role in cell reproduction.
He shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and has also received the Albert Lasker Award, Gairdner Award, Louis Jeantet Prize, and Royal Society's Royal and Copley Medals.