Secretary-General Meets Governing Council of New Technology Bank for LDCs

United Nations, New York
26 July 2016
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre right) meets with the Governing Council of the newly established Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries.

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

LAST month, SGX-listed equipment manufacturer and engineering services provider UMS Holdings Ltd signed an agreement with a Malaysian-based aerospace metallic component manufacturer All Star Fortress Sdn Bhd (ASF).
Under the memorandum of understanding, UMS will be taking up a 10% equity stake in ASF for RM100,000.
On top of that, UMS will extend secured convertible loans up to a total of US$7.5mil (RM32.32mil) to ASF for the aerospace part maker to expand its manufacturing capacity.
ASF targets to attract RM100mil in investment by 2020 while the aim for its revenue by then is RM350mil.
It also expects to hire 1,000 engineers by then.
Under the plan, ASF will be relocating to UMS’ Penang facilities from its current two-acre factory in Malacca for better synergies.
UMS, a firm with a market cap of S$217mil (RM665mil) headquartered in Singapore with operations in Malaysia and the United States, says the latest collaboration will allow it to further diversify its business, particularly into the aerospace industry, which provides great potential. Its Singapore headquarters is 211,500 sq ft while its Penang factory is 600,000 sq ft.
The company is making S$28mil in profit on the back of S$111.3mil in revenue up to end-September.
As for ASF, its customers in the aerospace industry include: British automotive and aerospace group GKN, US-based Spirit AeroSyatems, US-based UTC Aerospace and Main Market-listed SAM Engineering Bhd.
This is just one of the tie-ups that marks the underlying growth of the aerospace industry in Malaysia.
More importantly, the trend of international aerospace players outsourcing more work the players in the region coupled with the Malaysian government’s efforts to develop the industry bode well for its growth plan.
Another recent example that occurred in August is the RM830mil deal the UMW Group clinched to manufacture and assemble aero engine fan cases for Royce-Rolls Ltd. The 25-year contract will see UMW making fan cases for Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engines that power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
According to an Airbus report, air traffic will grow at 4.6% per year for the next 20 years, requiring 32,6000 new passengers and dedicated freighter aircraft at a value of US$4.9 trillion.
In the next 20 years, 40% of the demand from aircraft come from Asia. Globally, there are 38,000 aircraft worth US$5.3 trillion to be built.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) deputy CEO II Datuk Phang Ah Tong says because of that, many big boys in the aerospace industry are looking to shift their centres to Asia to cut cost and that presents opportunities for Malaysia, which sits strategically on the map.
Because of that, local champions can provide aerospace parts and services throughout the whole value chain.
“Mida’s role is to identify the gaps in the aerospace industry and advise our local champions to fill in the gaps in the whole value chain.”
The recent commodities rout which hit the oil and gas (O&G) industry had led to players in the ecosystem getting hurt as the number of jobs are slashed and the revenue pie is shrinking.
Phang says some of the machinery makers for the O&G sector can transfer their know-how and diversify into the aerospace industry by collaborating with existing aerospace players.
“This is an industry that’s full of potential. Moreover, the barrier of entry is quite high so business owners have to make conscious decisions and efforts so that they can get into this lucrative business.”
That’s because suppliers need to get quality standards certification and approvals from international agencies and their respective clients.
Besides, the contracts in aerospace are usually long-term and that provides income stability for the players.
Through these years, Mida has played an important role in grooming manufacturers.
Phang notes that 25% of Malaysia’s gross domestic products is manufacturing and about half of that is made up by electric and electronics.
“It was a vision for us to tap into other sources of income and going forward, aerospace will be a promising area on top of what we have already achieved for electric and electronics.”
Now, he hopes that aerospace component manufacturing will contribute to the growth of the manufacturing in Malaysia.
It is one of the catalytic subsectors alongside electric and electronics, chemicals, machineries and equipment as well as medical devices.
Phang says these areas are considered catalytic because other industries are making use of the products and services from these areas.
The National Aerospace Blueprint was first launched in 1997 and the new one was launched this year.
The blueprint outlines the various segments of the industry from maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO); aerospace manufacturing; avionics and systems integration to aerospace training and education.
Some of the ambitions set are: getting 5% of the global MRO market share, moving up to the higher tier in the global supply chain and achieving strategic technology advancement.
Because of these aspirations, the Government has set out opportunities and incentives for global aerospace players to invest directly in Malaysia or to partner local firms to grow the industry.
Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology senior vice-president Datuk Kamarulzaman Zainal says the industry recorded RM11.8bil turnover, involving 159 companies and employed 19,500 people.
“Due to the technology involved, aerospace is always seen as the leading edge compared to other fields.Investment from domestic and foreign investors recorded RM642mil last year while exports from the industry achieved RM2.9bil.
In terms of industry revenue contribution, MRO was the highest at 55%, followed by 33% of manufacturing and te remaining 12% others.
Of the sub-segments, aerostructure manufacturing continues to be the fastest growing because Malaysia is involved in the lucrative narrow-body programmes, which are expected to have extensive sales and deliveries for years to come, he adds.
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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.

Nature, a prestigious science journal, has published a commentary on the findings and recommendations of the Task Force of International experts formed by the Muslim World Science Initiative. The Task Force is being chaired by the Science Advisor himself; Professor Nidhal Guessoum of the American University of Sharjah (UAE) is the Convener of the Task Force; and Datuk Dr. Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, President and CEO of the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) as the Co-Convenor.
The Muslim-Science Task Forces Initiative,  funded partly by John Templeton Foundation, is hosted and supported by MIGHT and its partners, the Islamic World Academy of Sciences (IAS) and the Akademi Sains Malaysia (ASM).
The initiative is in line with Malaysia’s aspiration to be a developed nation by 2020 and the Science2Action (S2A) initiative. S2A is a national initiative that seeks to intensify and raise the profile of Science and Technology to support Malaysia’s development beyond 2020.
The Task Force includes eminent experts and scholars including  Dr. Michael Reiss, University of London; Dr. Bruce Alberts, University of California at San Francisco, former president of US National Academy of Sciences and a recent US National Medal of Science Laureate; and H.E. Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the President of Mauritius.
The Task Force reviewed the ranking of Muslim-world’s universities globally. On average, Muslim countries invest less than 0.5% of their GDP on R&D. Only Malaysia spends slightly more than 1% (the world average is 1.78%, while most advance countries spend 2-3%). Muslim-majority countries have on average about 600 researchers per million of population, and only Tunisia and Malaysia present solid and increasing numbers, at about 2000.
The Task Force is expected to put out an open call for universities across the Muslim world to join a voluntary Network of Excellence of Universities for Science (NEXUS), to be launched next year. Releasing the Report of the Task Force in Malaysia, Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid stressed that “NEXUS will help build capacity for University Administrators and Champions, monitor the progress of reforms at participating universities, and issue a peer report card to inspire further improvements.”
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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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