Chance for Sarawak to shine
SARAWAK is a state that’s rich in natural resources. It is also one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world. It is without doubt a state that can truly be described as one which can sway the climate change issue in a positive way. This is because Sarawak still boasts a pristine tropical rainforest area which is barely touched ( pic). Except for the extraction of timber logs in its initial years, the rainforests in Sarawak are still in their natural state.
Every year, Sarawak celebrates such success through its Rainforest Music Festival. The rich biodiversity within the forests are just waiting to be tapped. However, in order to generate long-term benefits to the state, the tapping of such bountiful resources requires careful planning and execution.
And Sarawak has that envious opportunity to show to the world that sustainable development is a workable proposition.
It is therefore encouraging to learn that Sarawak has recently announced a decision to embrace R&D in a more concerted manner. The chief minister himself made that announcement during his visit to the state’s Research Institute for Tropical Peat.
The decision to set up a research council for the state is not only timely but also augurs well for the future development of the state. However, its leaders should be cautioned on the fact that many other states have set similar instruments to drive R&D but sadly have not shown the true fruits of achievement.
Many have come out with beautifully-crafted policies but lack the vigour to effectively implement them. Such mistakes must not be repeated in Sarawak. Those responsible must recognise from the start that R&D is not for the short term. It is instead a long-term commitment to support nation-building.
We can learn from many countries around the world that have demonstrated the wisdom of a long-term support for R&D. Most of the countries that have made a success of R&D share one common feature – most are resource-deficient. Examples include Germany, South Korea, the Nordic countries, Japan and Taiwan.
Sarawak has the unique opportunity to show the world that it is one resource-rich state which will defy the long-standing theory that only resource-deficient nations can truly make a success of R&D.
The fact that the chief minister himself will drive the R&D agenda for the state is already a positive sign. In Germany, for example, the chancellor herself has a close interest in the R&D affairs of her country. She has constant consultations with all the heads of the R&D entities, and I know for a fact that she would have meetings with the president of the Fraunhofer Applied Research Network on almost a monthly basis.
Germany is now the leading technology nation in the world with most of its exports comprising high-value technology products and services. That explains why Germany was second only to China in the value of its exports last year despite having a much smaller population compared to China’s 1.4 billion.
But we must remember that Germany did not become a leading technology nation overnight.
South Korea is the other good example of a country which has practised good planning and execution of its R&D investments. However, both countries dabble more in the downstream aspects of technology.
As for Sarawak, setting up the research council is a good first step. Crafting a research and innovation plan which clearly spells out the policy and implementation aspects should be given serious thinking. The exercise should bring in the relevant expertise from both the local pool and international sources.
In the execution phase, the key factor is a vibrant innovation ecosystem that brings together all the major stakeholders including research scientists, industry players, relevant NGOs, academia, financiers and the government. All must be effectively linked, and the linkage should be managed by a coordinating body which reports directly to the state research council. That coordinating body will also be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the ecosystem and report regularly to the state.
With all such instruments in place, there is no reason why Sarawak cannot demonstrate to the world that it can be the first example of a resource-rich nation that can make a success of R&D in support of sustainable economic growth.