Secretary-General Meets Governing Council of New Technology Bank for LDCs
From left: Ann Aerts, Head of the Novartis Foundation and member of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development; Orkun Hasekioðlu, Vice President of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK); Bitrina Diyamett, Executive Director of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO); Zakri Abdul Hamid, Science Adviser to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and member of the Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board; Gyan Chandra Acharya (Vice-Chair), Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS); Mohamed H.A. Hassan (Chair), President of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and former Chairman of the Council of the United Nations University; Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Abdoulaye Yero Balde, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Guinea; Sonia Bashir Kabir, Country Director for Microsoft Bangladesh; Aggrey Ambali, Head of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Science Technology and Innovation Hub; Rosibel Ochoa, Executive Director of the von Liebig Entrepreneurism Center, University of California San Diego and Alfred Watkins, Chairman of Global Solutions Summits.
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Malaysian scientist wins ‘Best Science Communicator’ title
Kuala Lumpur: His talk on how genetics change the way cancer is diagnosed and treated in the age of precision medicine has brought honour to Dr Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam when he won the ‘Best Science Communicator award at Famelab International 2016.
Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (Might) in a statement said the scientist from Universiti Putra Malaysia sailed past over 2,000 scientists from 27 countries in the world’s biggest science communication competitions organised by The Times Cheltenham Science Festival in the United Kingdom on June 9.
Sharing his success, Dr Abhimanyu said there was a need to communicate effectively, especially to the non-scientific audience, on the matter.
“Science communication is essential to ensure that the advancements in science translate into actual improvement of lives,” he said in the statement.
This year marked the second time Malaysia participated in the competition that is designed to engage and entertain by breaking down science technology and engineering concepts within three minutes of presentation.
Famelab Malaysia was jointly organised by MIGHT and British Council Malaysia.
MIGHT president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman said Dr Abhimanyu’s win was a huge achievement for the country.
“Dr Abhi’s victory is indeed special and timely as the nation urgently needs to rally everyone to embrace and leverage on science and societal wellbeing through simple, fun yet effective communication,” he said.
British Council Malaysia director, Sarah Deverall said making science accessible and attractive to a non-scientific audience through good communication was an ever-growing priority for researchers worldwide.
“While the result is truly rewarding for him (Dr Abhimanyu) personally, it is also an excellent achievement for Malaysia,” she said.
Source: Astro Awani
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PM Najib’s keynote address at the GSIAC distinguished lecture series in London
LONDON, May 17 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that Malaysia has achieved a reduction of 35 per cent in its national carbon emissions as at end-2015 from a target of 40 per cent reduction by 2020.
“We take these targets seriously and this shows the work that goes into meeting them,” he said in his address on Global Competitiveness: Malaysia’s Aspirations during the GSIAC-Khazanah Distinguished Lecture Series here today.
The Prime Minister, who is on a working visit to the UK from May 15 to 18, said sustainability not only makes environmental sense but also economic sense as it is a driver of new technology and innovation, and is a sector that is becoming increasingly important worldwide.
Najib said the Green Technology Financing Scheme has successfully supported 188 projects, which not only have saved the equivalent of 2.31 million tonnes of carbon emissions but also helped in creating nearly 4,000 jobs.
“So this is why we have introduced tax incentives to encourage industries to adopt green technology, set targets for an installed capacity of renewable energy and make green growth an integral part of the 11th Malaysia Plan, which will guide us over the next four years,” he said.
Najib said the government also encourages the financing of socially-beneficial and sustainable ventures such as the Sustainable an Responsible Investment Sukuk framework introduced by the Securities Commission and the Environmental, Social and Governance Index launched by Bursa Malaysia.
The government also continues to develop new financial assets such as carbon credit-based solutions based on the principles of Islamic finance, he noted.
“We want to encourage this further and we will consider providing incentives to companies that offset their carbon footprint with Malaysian rainforest credit,” he added. — Bernama
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Big Business Potential in Aerospace
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Malaysia Joins Efforts To Reinvigorate Science in the Muslim World
Kuala Lumpur, 30 November 2015 – The Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Professor Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid today launched the report on the “State of Science at Universities of the Muslim World” to an audience of key stakeholders of Malaysia educational sector earlier today.
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Prasarana Sends Technical Support for Bangkok MRT Purple Line
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 November — Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana), which recently formalised collaboration with MRT Jakarta, will be sharing its expertise with its rail counterparts in Thailand as well by providing technical support for Bangkok MRT Purple Line.
A team of six drivers and five controllers from Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd – a subsidiary of Prasarana and operator of Rapid KL rail services, will be attached to the Thai MRT operator for four months under a collaboration exercise between the two establishments.
“The request came from Marubeni-Toshiba JV (MTJV), which is the company responsible in delivering the systems for Bangkok Purple Line. Their request was for manpower support for its Site Integration Test. Four of our train drivers left for Bangkok yesterday for the purpose.
“We are proud and honoured to offer services to our fellow international partners especially from the Asean member countries. In Asean, we are part of a big family, said Rapid Rail Chief Executive Officer, Encik Ahmad Nizam Mohd Amin.
Ahmad Nizam added that the request by operators in other countries reflects the confidence and recognition of the capability of Rapid Rail engineers and technical staff.
“Rapid Rail recently successfully spearheaded the operations of the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Makkah Metro Southern Line for this year’s haj operations. It was our first international assignment and we are grateful that we managed to successfully carry out the assignment and help pilgrims around the world to perform their haj.
“With that first year experience, we aim to further improve our services in the Holy Land next year. There are still plenty of rooms for improvement; we have identified these areas and will be starting our preparations very early for the 2016 haj season,” added Ahmad Nizam.
On the collaboration with MRT Jakarta, Ahmad Nizam said Rapid Rail and Prasarana will share its experience in the planning and operations of urban rail lines with MRT Jakarta and both parties will explore the possibility of exchanges in technical and operational information, expertise, and know-how to further enhance and develop their mutual capabilities.
The Purple Line is a rapid transit line of the Bangkok MRT under construction for the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region and Nonthaburi Province, Thailand. When opens, it will be second line to be operated by MRT and the city’s fifth rapid transit line for the city. The Purple Line is scheduled for commencement of operations at the end of 2016.
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Najib Kagum Penglibatan Jurutera Muda Berbilang Kaum Dalam Projek MRT
KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Nov (Bernama) — Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata beliau kagum dengan penglibatan begitu ramai jurutera muda Malaysia terdiri daripada pelbagai kaum dan latar belakang dalam projek Transit Aliran Massa (MRT).
Beliau berkata pengetahuan dan pengalaman yang ditimba dalam bidang itu sangat berharga dan amat diperlukan di masa hadapan bukan sahaja untuk negara malah pembangunan kerjaya mereka sendiri.
“Setiap kali saya melawat tapak pembinaan MRT, saya sentiasa kagum melihat begitu ramai jurutera muda Malaysia yang terdiri daripada pelbagai kaum dan latar belakang terlibat dalam projek berprofil tinggi ini.
“Saya bangga melihat anak-anak muda Malaysia dalam projek MRT ini kerana bukan sahaja mereka dapat belajar daripada para jurutera yang lebih berpengalaman bahkan diberi peluang untuk menjadi pengurus-pengurus projek walaupun umur mereka masih dalam lingkungan 20 ke 30-an,” katanya dalam entri terbaharu di blog NajibRazak.com pada Jumaat.
Najib yang juga Menteri Kewangan berkata projek itu bukan sahaja penambahan kepada infrastruktur pengangkutan awam di negara ini, bahkan telah membawa masuk teknologi kejuruteraan canggih ke Malaysia.
“Begitu juga dengan projek-projek lain yang memerlukan teknologi kejuruteraan canggih seperti projek Pengerang, Jambatan Pulau Pinang Kedua, projek Menara KL118, Keretapi Berkelajuan Tinggi,” katanya.
Katanya projek-projek berteknologi tinggi itu mampu melahirkan bakat-bakat yang mampu memacu pembangunan negara masa kini dan masa hadapan.
Pada 11 Nov lepas, semasa melawat depot tren MRT di Sungai Buloh dekat sini, Najib dilaporkan berkata yakin jajaran pertama projek itu dapat beroperasi menjelang akhir tahun depan seperti yang dijadualkan.
Menurut Najib, MRT kini memiliki 19 buah tren dan akan menerima 35 buah tren lagi menjelang pertengahan tahun depan.
— BERNAMA
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