IT is encouraging that science is getting more attention from the nation's leaders lately. New developmental policies that emerge are mostly centred around science.
The 12th Malaysia Plan has a high percentage of scientific content. Digitalisation, Industrial Revolution 4.0, biomass harnessing, hydrogen economy and renewable energy are all about science.
For many years since it was first established in 1996, the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) has been urging the government to prioritise science.
In the early years, ASM struggled to convince policymakers to profitably tap into the pool of its scientific minds. The fellowship, which numbered only 50 when it was first established, has now swelled to more than 400 members.
These are people who have demonstrated their excellence in scientific thinking, which the nation can benefit from. The growing number of ASM fellows speaks well of the efforts to build a competent advisory think tank on science for the country. But, their ideas would all go to waste if not effectively harnessed.
Fortunately, the last few years have witnessed a positive change. There is now increasing recognition of the potential that ASM can offer. Scientists are encouraged by the growing number of policy-crafting that ASM fellows have been engaged in.
The Economic Planning Unit (EPU), the key architect of the country's development planning, is increasingly turning to ASM for strategic advice on science. In this era of climate change and sustainability, policy planning is incomplete without science.
ASM has, in recent years, been sought after to deliver policy advice on water management, R&D commercialisation, IR 4.0 implementation and many more. Even the states are showing an interest in the expertise at ASM.
This is encouraging and timely since the states have not been very forthcoming all these years in addressing science.
With the involvement of the states, there is hope that issues like biodiversity disturbance and river pollution, which continue to haunt the nation, will see improvement in the coming years.
The latest move taken by the states came from Sabah, which is seeking closer collaboration with ASM for betterment of the state.
ASM itself has undergone change. It now has among its fellows expertise in social science and the humanities. This has also happened in the last few years when it dawned upon the ASM council that physical science alone is incomplete in addressing the complex problems confronting the world now.
We now have the nation's top economists and legal expertise among the new line-up of ASM fellows.
And we now see the positive synergy of multidisciplines contributing to more realistic policymaking for the country.
A good example is the so-called MySTIE idea, which proposes closing the gap and missing links between science and the economy. The idea has been made central in the aspirations of the 12th Malaysia Plan.
The fact that the government is turning more to ASM for scientific advice is a good sign as the nation strives to achieve NetZero by 2050.
However, we should be mindful of the fact that advice cannot always be sweet and palatable.
Sometimes, it may also be bitter for those who seek it.
But, the ultimate objective is the same, which is to make things better. For example, though we have been productive in launching policies, their implementation has been sorely lacking.
A key problem here is poor coordination among stakeholders as well as ineffective governance. ASM is now moving into the new phase of also providing constructive criticism as a form of advice.
By welcoming constructive criticism, this should further augur well for the role of ASM in offering real advice in nation building. We would then be truly tapping on the leading scientific minds of the country.
The writer is a professor at Tan Sri Omar Centre for STI Policy at UCSI University