[Shared] “Will a Malaysian EVER win a Nobel Prize in Science?”

By Sara Rijaluddin

To change and save the world, one does not have to be an outspoken politician to influence a crowd, a UN humanitarian who opened schools and hospitals in third-word nations or an innovative businessman with one outstanding new revolutionary product concept.

Sometimes, it takes the quiet discoveries such as special gloves to be used in space, or the conversion of oil from McDonalds French Fries to power up a car, to have an impact. Sometimes, we tend to forget about the many other interests and pursuits of other brilliant, unsung and unspoken young Malaysians.

Growing up in Malaysia, the field of science has always been given a heavy focus. Students are heavily encouraged to foray into the science stream and thereafter, pursue science-related courses. The sciences have always had the impression of being the tougher courses, and science students were often deemed to be smarter and more superior in comparison to their arts counterparts.

However, aside from the glamorous careers of medical doctors, engineers and one Angkasawan, other Malaysian scientists are often left out of the limelight. Where are they? What have they been doing?

SCIENTIFIC MALAYSIAN

The founders of Scientific Malaysian (also known as SciMy), Andrew Chan and Dr. Wong Kah Keng, are committed to changing this impression of Malaysian scientists, and are building the much-needed bridge between Malaysian scientists globally and the Malaysian public. Founded only a year ago, SciMy was initially created to connect Malaysian scientists and engineers worldwide via a social networking platform. (Yes, even scientists move in line with Mark Zuckerberg!)

By doing this, Malaysian scientists, regardless of where they are in the world, are able to discuss ideas and share knowledge, from general scientific or research issues in Malaysia to specific problems related to their area of specialty.

One of SciMy’s objectives is to promote research collaborations between local and overseas scientists. Andrew and Dr. Wong both stressed upon the fact that collaborations are crucial in scientific research. This is one of the ways by which they can further advance the scientific development in Malaysia.

According to Andrew, the idea for the SciMy project initially came from a discussion about finding ways for the Malaysian scientific community currently studying or working abroad to contribute to the growth of research and development in Malaysia. These scientists are actively seeking and debating ways to improve the country’s scientific front. Future SciMy’s goals include establishing close partnerships with local universities, ministries or any other agencies interested in advancing the research and development sectors in Malaysia.

RECEPTION BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

Though the reception has been deemed good so far, especially by the Malaysian scientists and students abroad, there is a definite lack of manpower. The team is made up entirely of volunteers and only limited amount of time could be dedicated to SciMy. With the team looking forward for further expansion of SciMy’s membership – with 422 registered members (and counting) – there is a definite need for a bigger support team.

Dr Wong agrees that there is much room for improvement, especially with regards to increasing the awareness of the efforts made by Malaysian scientists to the general public and how the general public can contribute to and benefit from the SciMy initiative. It is important that the general public is able to understand the benefits that they themselves could achieve through the progress of the field of science in Malaysia.

Although the objectives seems to be aimed at Malaysian scientific community, SciMy’s team also focuses on the Malaysian public understanding of science. A lot of emphasis has been placed on the Scientific Malaysian Magazine, which is hoped to serve not only as an avenue for scientists to promote their work and viewpoints, but also to promote science to the public. In the third issue of Scientific Malaysian magazine, they introduced a “Science Storytelling” column to engage less technical readers and the general public in SciMy’s future projects.

SCIENCE IN MALAYSIA TAKING A BACKSEAT?

It is argued by the SciMy founders that the field of science is not being neglected in comparison to the corporate arena, but that the current approach to research in itself is less effective. Scientists have to adopt a different approach to science in comparison to corporate fields. The attitude to the profitability of science must be changed, especially since doing science is not the same as doing business.

The simple fact of the matter is that not all scientific findings will immediately translate to profitable business ventures. There are many indirect benefits for a country to focus on scientific research and development. For example, the knowledge gained from basic research in stem cells will pave the way towards therapeutic benefits that could make Malaysia a centre for stem cell treatment.

In terms of financial support for research, money does not always attract the best brains. In science, having money alone will not guarantee success – scientists need the collaborative effort which means the opportunity to work and discuss with other top class researchers from around the world.

Scientists in Malaysia are generally isolated and understandably, many have and will find it difficult to collaborate with other world class researchers in other parts of the world. This problem, to a certain extent, restricts Malaysian scientists from doing high impact research and this is evident from the lack of high impact research publications from Malaysian researchers. The recently launched SciMy Project Collab is aimed to alleviate such problem, by promoting research collaboration among Malaysian researchers and other scientists abroad.

The high administration and teaching workload, lack of experienced PhD graduates to take up research group leader (also known as principal investigator) positions, and the lack of emphasis on securing postdoctoral researchers are also one of the many problems faced by the Malaysian scientific community.

Considerable funding from local sources for research has been allocated. However, the funding is usually insufficient to secure local, or overseas, postdoctoral researchers. This renders the local researchers reliant on postgraduate students to carry out daily experiments.

In contrast with postgraduate students who have just been exposed to the world of research, postdoctoral researchers have received extensive training. As such, their input is crucial for successful research in almost all international laboratories, especially those in developed countries.

On the other hand, the Malaysian public might not understand the practicality of scientific findings, especially those conducted locally. At home, young people are rarely encouraged to pursue a career in scientific research due to the perceived lack of job security and lack of financial returns. As a result, we might lose the interest and participation of the younger generation in science, especially those with genuine capabilities and passion in scientific research. We thus stand to lose a probable Malaysian generation that could strive for hallmarks of scientific excellence, such as winning the coveted Nobel or Shaw Prize, for several years to come.

With regards to the reversing of the teaching of Science and Maths to Bahasa Malaysia from English, there are valid arguments for and against teaching Science and Maths from both sides.  The founders however, as scientists themselves, stress that English is the lingua franca of science and its importance in scientific communication needs to be emphasised. Malaysia might need to implement it as soon as possible in order to catch up with the relentless pace of global scientific and mathematical discoveries.

Although teaching Science and Maths in Bahasa Malaysia may be beneficial in the short term, ultimately in the long run, Malaysian students have to be able to communicate science effectively in English, especially if they choose to pursue a scientific career path.

THE NOBEL PRIZE QUESTION

There have been some Malaysian researchers who have won international recognition on their work but receive little  acknowledgement from the Malaysian media or the public. This is partly due to the lack of sufficient publicity to the Malaysian media to report on their international achievements.  To be successful to the point of being newsworthy is an extremely difficult feat, even for scientists in developed countries.

Also, when detailing his or her scientific achievements in the news report, the public could be confused by the scientific jargon and technicalities involved, making it less likely that they will remember a particular scientist. Perhaps such announcements should be made in a more easily understood manner so as to generate more interest among the general public.

That said, it is not impossible for advances in science to make the headlines. For example, the Higgs-Boson particle discovery and the successful landing of NASA’s Mars Rover made the front page news, and were the talk of the town for quite a period of time.

The founders both agreed that Malaysians could win a Nobel Prize someday, and that it is only a matter of time. There are already many Malaysians working in high impact research areas across the globe. Each one of them is contributing to new scientific discoveries.

However, science is an exploratory field; there is no definite way to say that a particular scientist of a particular nationality stands higher chances of winning the Nobel Prize. Furthermore, scientific discoveries in less popular area or field may not be awarded any prestigious scientific prizes, although such discoveries may have far-reaching positive impact.

THE FUTURE OF SCIENCE IN MALAYSIA

Both founders feel that Malaysians perhaps do not give themselves enough credit. Scientific work conducted locally is often perceived as inferior. If we start to appreciate and support those who stay in Malaysia with the intent of improving the local research arena, or those who contribute directly or indirectly to scientific research from overseas, then there is bigger hope for Malaysian science.

Malaysia is still developing as a country and it is normal for such country to morph from a nation focused on manufacturing and low-cost labour to one with knowledgeable workforce in the country’s progression towards a developed nation.

Furthermore, Malaysia has rich biodiversity which can provide a great foundation for research in terms of drug discovery from natural sources. There are other areas for development such as renewable energy, forestry, green energy and electronics, just to name a few. Science is multidisciplinary and good scientific research can be conducted anywhere regardless of the country’s resources – Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea are prime examples in Asia.

In short, there is no limit as to what Malaysia can contribute on a global scale.

CEKU would like to thank the founder of Scientific Malaysian, Andrew Chan and co-founder, Dr Wong Kah Keng for their contributions to this article.Visit Scientific Malaysian for more information.

Project Collab is an effort by Scientific Malaysian to foster research collaborations between scientific researchers in Malaysia and abroad. As part of this project, the research profiles of participating scientists and their contact details are compiled into a directory-style listing – to make it easier for other researchers to browse or search for a scientist to collaborate with. This is an opportunity for Malaysian scientists across the globe to promote their research profiles.

Sara Rijaluddin is an Editorial Writer for CEKU. She will be starting her 2nd year LLB Law at Durham University where dark chocolates and a tupperware full of nuts will be her best friends through the long nights of burning the midnight oil, again.

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