Don't Belittle govt efforts; Najib Tells Opposition

It is not good to belittle Malaysia’s efforts and success, says Najib.
BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR (June 22, 2011): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said it was not right for the Opposition to belittle the country’s efforts and accomplishment in the field of science and ICT.

He said Malaysia has received due recognition from several countries including during the recently-concluded Langkawi International Dialogue whereby the African leaders were impressed with the country’s achievements.

“It is not good to belittle Malaysia’s efforts and success,” he told Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai) who claimed the government track record has shown that previous efforts have not brought substantive results.

However, Najib agreed with Nurul Izzah that implementation-wise, the efforts must be looked into more seriously.

“As such, I have requested for greater commitment from the Science Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technologies (Might) to ensure a smooth implementation.

“And, the agencies involved and universities also should play their role accordingly in this initiative,” he said.

Nurul Izzah in her supplementary question claimed the international consultative council set up for the MSC could not be fully implemented due to obvious flaws.

Earlier, to the original question from Datuk Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong), Najib said the inaugural Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) meeting in New York last month has resulted in three high-impact projects.

They are the oil palm biomass project, the Smart City – Smart Village project and the human capital development project.

Asked how it would benefit the people, especially the rural folks, Najib told Noraini the Smart City – Smart Village project would find ways how ICT applications could improve their quality of life.

“Once the project is completed, it will involve overall participation. Criteria like green technology and ICT can be utilised in all aspects – health, education and dissemination of information.

“And even the way we live in our own house, through ICT, we can add more comfort to life,” he added.

To a question from Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong), Najib said the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) has assured that the foreign scientists to be involved in the cooperation with Malaysia are highly credible.

“The NYAS will also ensure the scientists would be involved in our projects, in the best possible implementation method,” he added.

The GSIAC is a joint initiative between Might and NYAS towards efforts to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy by increasing its capacity in science and innovation.

The meeting was attended by 35 members, including leading scientists and innovators from the US and other countries.


From The Sun Daily,
By Husna Yusop