Reversing declining R&D investments

 

 

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SIX decades ago, Malaysia was richer than South Korea and Taiwan.

But today, the country is behind these two technology superpowers and is still trying to break out of the middle-income trap.

Taiwan overtook Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the mid-70s, and not long after that, South Korea overtook Malaysia in the mid-80s.

A major reason for Malaysia lagging behind Taiwan and South Korea is the failure to invest adequately in research and development (R&D) that ultimately resulted in low local technology creation.

This is reflected in the number of patents granted, as mentioned in the World Intellectual Property Indicators report.

In 2022, a total of 6,876 patents were granted in Malaysia, out of which almost 85% were granted to non-residents.

In contrast, South Korea granted 145,882 patents in 2022. Three out of four patents in that year were granted to residents.

Official figures show that Malaysia’s gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) has been declining in the past several years, even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In fact, the country’s GERD per GDP dropped to just 0.95% in 2020, which was the lowest since 2010.For comparison, countries like South Korea, the United States and Japan spent 4.81%, 3.45% and 3.26% of their GDP in 2020 for R&D, respectively.

Notably, China’s GERD per GDP stood at 2.4% in 2020, significantly higher than Malaysia despite having an almost similar GDP per capita.

It is noteworthy that Malaysia is well behind its GERD per GDP target of 3.5% by 2030. The intermediate target is 2.5% by 2025, which is just two years’ away.

Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Minister Chang Lih Kang

In a reply to StarBizWeek, Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Minister Chang Lih Kang acknowledges that the gap to achieve the 2030 target is “stark and significant”.

He also adds that there is a funding shortfall of RM40bil to achieve the 2025 target.

“The slump in GERD before 2020 primarily stems from a dwindling contribution from the business sector, which started around 2016.

“While the government has consistently provided substantial R&D funding, it’s imperative for the business and industry sectors to substantially participate.

“After all, these sectors stand to gain the most from R&D innovations, utilising outcomes to enhance products, refine business processes, and overall drive competitive advantage,” says Chang.

Malaysia’s long-delayed ambition to become a high-income nation relies on the country’s ability to effectively spend on R&D efforts in high-potential areas.

Increased R&D efforts that would lead to greater technology adoption in the country are highly necessary, considering that Malaysia is set to become a super-aged country by 2056.

Amid declining fertility rates, more of the country’s workforce must be automated and mechanised to avert any crisis in the future.

Mosti Minister Chang also says that a higher expenditure on R&D serves as a foundational indicator in many global indices like the Global Innovation Index (GII) and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI).

In the Madani Economy framework unveiled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last month, these two indices were mentioned as some of the key performance indicators (KPIs), moving forward.

Anwar envisages Malaysia to be among the top 20 countries in GII by 2025. As for GCI, Malaysia aims to rank in the top 12 within the next 10 years.

It is understandable why Anwar hopes to improve Malaysia’s ranking in such indices.

“These indices are meticulously scrutinised by foreign investors when determining potential investment destinations,” according to Chang.

Spending it right

A similarity between South Korea and Malaysia is the fact that both governments have in the past invested significantly in building local industries, including for R&D efforts.

“Chaebols” or South Korean mega-conglomerates were once small businesses that received generous support from the government since the early 1960s. This has helped to nurture internationally recognised brands such as Samsung and Hyundai.

Similarly, Malaysia has also channelled billions of ringgit into profit-driven entities such as car manufacturer Proton and semiconductor wafer foundry Silterra.

However, unlike in South Korea, these heavy industrialisation projects that were introduced during the administration of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad failed to sustain commercially and continued to depend on government handouts.

These two projects have since been privatised. Proton Holdings Bhd made a rebound after China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding emerged in the carmaker with a 49.1% stake.

Meanwhile, Silterra was sold to Dagang NeXchange Bhd (Dnex) and Beijing Integrated Circuit Advanced Manufacturing and High-End Equipment Equity Investment Fund Centre (Limited Partnership) – also known as CGP Fund.

Dnex holds a 60% stake in Silterra, while CGP Fund owns the remaining 40%.

An analyst explains that the failure of Proton and Silterra was the result of continued government funding in the past, even if the management did not achieve tangible results.

“South Korea was different. You have a set of KPIs outlined along the timeline. If you don’t perform, you won’t get the money,” the analyst says.

Like it or not, the government has a big role to play in stimulating R&D efforts in the market.

The US government, for instance, is a major funder of R&D and is also a major user of the new innovations that may have yet to receive demand from the public.

It is noteworthy that the Internet and the global positioning system (GPS) began as projects under the US Department of Defence.

It is typical of the private sector to innovate and to create new products only when they foresee market opportunities.

With shareholders’ ultimate focus being on profit, the private sector may have its limitations when it comes to risk-taking.

In the case of Malaysia, businesses do not reinvest an adequate amount of their profits into R&D, despite the fact that Malaysian companies retain high operating profits.

In 2022, the gross operating surplus of businesses constituted 67% of GDP, which increased from 62.6% in 2021.

The easy supply of cheap foreign workers, particularly before the pandemic, has further allowed Malaysian companies to avoid R&D and automating a large part of their operations.

Distinguished professor of economics Datuk Rajah Rasiah agrees that the domestic private sector does not invest adequately in R&D.

“As firms move up the technology trajectory towards frontier innovations, they expect strong support from the embedding ecosystem, especially the science, technology, and innovation (STI) infrastructure.

“Although Malaysia did attempt to create the STI infrastructure after 1991, almost all of them (such as Mimos, Science and Technology Parks and the incubators in them as well as the Malaysian Technology Development Corp) were not effectively governed, and hence, they have become white elephants.

“Given the lack of such support and ineffective governance of incentives and grants in the selection, monitoring and appraisal of their output, private firms are unconvinced that attempts to upgrade to participate in R&D will materialise,” he says.

Techpreneur Tan Aik Keong also points out that Malaysian companies face fundraising difficulties for R&D purposes, especially small and medium enterprises and unlisted companies.

Tan was recently appointed as a member of the National Digital Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution Council. He is also the CEO of ACE Market-listed Agmo Holdings Bhd.

“Investors and lenders may hesitate to support R&D initiatives due to the inherent risks and uncertainties associated with these endeavours.

“The lack of a guaranteed correlation between R&D investment and immediate revenue generation can lead to doubts about the return on investment (ROI),” he says.Tan opines that the lack of “proven success stories” whereby R&D investments in Malaysia resulted in significant ROIs contributed to the scepticism.

In addition, he says that companies with no prior experience in R&D investments would find it challenging to start investing heavily in R&D.

“For listed entities, there is relatively more flexibility in terms of fundraising for R&D purposes.

“Capital market instruments such as private placements and rights issues can be leveraged to raise larger sums of funds to support R&D initiatives.

“Fortunately, the availability of matching grants from agencies like Mosti, MDEC, Miti, and MTDC can provide much-needed financial support and incentive for companies to invest in R&D activities,” he says.

Acknowledging the challenges, Mosti Minister Chang says that alternative financing mechanisms are being considered

A notable example is the Malaysia Science Endowment (MSE), which has set an ambitious goal of raising RM2bil.

“MSE is more than an alternative R&D funding for the nation.

“The working model is to utilise its interest, which will be generated from the investment.

“The fund would be optimised further through a matching fund mechanism – bringing quadruple helix stakeholders together to focus on solution-driven R&D and prioritising based on the nation’s needs,” he says.

Mosti, with Akademi Sains Malaysia, is currently actively developing a fund-raising mechanism to establish the MSE.

In addition, Chang says the government will continue to deploy a myriad of fiscal incentives that include tax exemptions and double deductions on R&D expenditures.“The overarching goal is to promote a symbiotic relationship where both the private sector and the government collaborate seamlessly to advance Malaysia’s R&D aspirations,” he says.

Lack of quality researchers?

R&D efforts are not just about investing a large sum of money. They will only yield best results if they are supported by qualified, world-class researchers.

Unfortunately, in the case of Malaysia, brain drain has become a major challenge in pushing for greater R&D.

The ongoing decline in interest among schoolchildren in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies will only worsen the situation in the future.

Agmo’s Tan notes that the declining interest in science subjects among students threatens the availability of skilled researchers, scientists, and engineers needed for a thriving R&D ecosystem.

“The potential for brain drain is a legitimate concern if Malaysia does not foster an environment conducive to R&D growth,” he says.

In 2020, Malaysia saw a decline in the number of researchers per 10,000 labour force at only 31.4 persons, as compared to 74 persons in 2016.

At 31.4 persons, this was the lowest level since 2010.

Rajah says that Malaysia lacks quality R&D researchers, as well as engineers and technicians to support serious R&D participation.

“Malaysia’s researchers and R&D personnel in the labour force fall way below that of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and China.

“In fact, this is one of the major reasons why national and foreign firms participate little in R&D activities in Malaysia,” he adds.

When asked about the commercialisation of research done by Malaysian universities, Rajah says the commercialisation ratio against grants received in Malaysia is very low.

This is compared to the Silicon Valley and Route 128 in the US, the science parks in Taiwan, and the Vinnova targeted areas in Sweden.

However, Rajah says the blame for the low rate is mistakenly placed on the scientists.

“Most universities in Malaysia focus on scientific publications, which is a major KPI for them. Malaysia does well on scientific publications.

“Mosti and the Higher Education Ministry should make intellectual property (IP) and commercialisation equally important.

“In doing so, the government must tie grants and incentives to link researchers and firms by offering matching grants so that the research undertaken by the scientists are targeted to the pursuit of IPs and monetary returns.

“Firms in this case will ensure that the 1:1 sharing of funds with the government brings returns for them – widely undertaken successfully in Japan, the Netherlands and Taiwan,” he says.

At the same time, Rajah suggests a critical appraisal of previous grants approved to ensure that mistakes are not repeated.

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In further strengthening the country R&D expertise, there are calls to improve universities’ curriculum more holistically.

Technology consultant Mohammad Shahir Shikh said there is a gap and misalignment between industries’ requirements versus theoretical research in new knowledge discovery by the universities.

He calls for greater partnership between universities and the industry, including for improving business operations via the integration of new technologies.

Mohammad Shahir has previously served as an engineer with chipmaker AMD for 11 years.

He raises concerns about the severe shortage of STEM graduates in Malaysia to serve the needs of the industries.

“The country’s target was to have 500,000 STEM graduates by 2020, but we now have only 68,000 such graduates.

“Even then, the highest number of unemployed graduates here is from the STEM stream.

“My proposal to the government is to start assisting potential schools and STEM students become familiar with scientific terms in English and improve their communication skills,” he adds.

Mohammad Shahir points out that about 30% of Finland’s workforce consists graduates from the STEM stream.

“This is a priority that needs to be addressed if we want to achieve our national innovation goals,” he says.

National STEM Association president and founder Prof Datuk Dr Noraini Idris laments that only about 15% of form four students take pure science subjects, namely physics, chemistry, biology and additional mathematics.

The percentage has fallen from abogaut 19% back in 2019.

“This is alarming. We need more students to take pure sciences if we want to create more scientists, data analysts and researchers for the future.

Noraini calls for a complete revamp in the national education system, whereby “STEM culture” is fostered among children from a very young age.

“My team and I have proposed the “cradle-to-career” model which instils the interest for STEM from nurseries and preschool to tertiary education.

“It also needs formal and informal support, whereby informal refers to family, peers and community to foster the interest in STEM.

“For this to happen, we need the effort of various ministries and not just the Education Ministry,” she says.

It is high time, according to Noraini, to set up a department for STEM directly under the Prime Minister’s Department to coordinate the joint-efforts across ministries.As the country works towards improving STEM’s acceptance, Agmo’s Tan says Malaysia must put more emphasis on R&D efforts in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, extended reality and cloud computing, among others.

“We must encourage the establishment of R&D centres by high-tech companies through attractive incentives,” he adds.

Looking ahead, the government has a lot of issues on its plate to address.

To reboot the economy, it is not only about spending more money on R&D.

More importantly, every ringgit invested must be spent efficiently in high-growth research areas that will yield strong ROIs.

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Is education fit for the future?

 

EDUCATION is the most controversial of subjects.

 

 One thing is clear, whilst the quantity of educated manpower is critical to national strength, quality may matter more.

Parents quarrel about the quality of education for their kids, just as societies are deeply divided on education as it defines the future.

Is the current education system fit for purpose to cope with a more complex, fractious future, fraught with possible war?

According to Stanford University’s Guide to Reimagining Higher Education, 96% of university chief academic officers think that their students are ready for the workforce, where only 11% of business leaders feel the same.

As the population and work force grow, the gap between skills demanded by employers and the education received by school leavers is widening, so much so that many are finding it hard to get the jobs that they want.

As technology accelerates in speed and complexity, the quality of education becomes more important than ever. Is it for the elites or the masses?

The Greek philosopher Aristotle recognised that the aim of education is for knowledge, but there was always a different view as to have knowledge for the individual or whether education must prepare the individual to fulfil the needs of society.

Feudal systems hardly paid attention to the masses, whereas most ancient institutes of higher learning were for elites, either for religious orders or in Chinese history, to prepare for civil or military service, but blended with self-cultivation.

Conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has just produced a fascinating study on the implications of higher education for national security.

Covering the period 1950-2040, the study acknowledged that the United States attained uncontested power status, because it had the highest levels of educational attainment and manpower.

In 1950, the United States, with less than 5% of the world’s population, had 45% share of world population aged 25 to 64 with completed tertiary education.

In comparison, India had 5% and China about half of that.

By 2020, the United States’ share had dropped to roughly 16%, whereas China was catching up, whilst India had just under 10%.

By 2040, depending on different estimates, China may double its share to between 15% and 20%, whereas India would have overtaken the United States with 12%, leaving the United States third with 10%.

It is a truism that education matters for economic growth and power.

Every additional year of schooling for children is estimated to add 9% to 10% increase in per capita output.

If you add in “business climate” with improvements in education, health and urbanisation, these factors explain five-sixths of differences in output per capita across countries.

Under the liberal world order, America encouraged the spread of global education, so much so that the global adult illiteracy (those without any schooling) fell from 45% in 1950 to only 13% by 2020.

This worldwide expansion in education was good for the world, but it also reduced the comparative advantage of the education and technology front-runners, particularly the United States.

The AEI study reported that the share of global adult population with at least some tertiary education increased from under 2% in 1950 to 16% today and would approach 22% by 2040.

In 1950, eight of the top 10 largest national highly educated working age labour pool was in advanced countries. By 2020, their share was half.

By 2040, this is likely to be only three out of 10.

In essence, India and China would take the lead in total highly trained manpower, especially in science and technology, with the United States “an increasingly distant third place contestant.”

The AEI study illustrates why increasingly American universities will be more selective in their future foreign student intake, especially in science and technology which may have impact on national security matters.

As late as 2017, MIT manifested global ambitions in its strategic plan, “Learning about the world, helping to solve the world’s greatest problems, and working with international collaborators who share our curiosity and commitment to rigorous scientific inquiry.”

That global vision may be cut back in light of the growing geopolitical split into military blocs. Western universities may no longer be encouraged to train foreign students into areas where they can return to compete in key technologies.

In short, geopolitical rivalry will determine the future of resources allocated to education, research and development and technology.

No country can afford liberal education in which every student is encouraged to do what he or she wants to do.

Students today want to be more engaged in the big social issues, such as climate change and social inequality.

But at the same time, they expect more experiential immersion into careers that are more self-fulfilling.

Instead, institutes of higher learning are forced by economics to provide more shorter term courses to upgrade worker skills, using new teaching methods and tools, especially artificial intelligence, virtual reality etc.

At the national level, governments will push universities into more research and development and innovation to gain national competitiveness, including R&D on defence and national security sectors.

This means that the education pipeline or supply chain will also be bifurcated like global supply chains that are being disrupted and split by geopolitics.

The conversation on what should go into the curriculum for education is only just beginning. Much of this is to do with funding.

As higher levels of education are more expensive, especially in the high technology area, whilst governments budgets are constrained, universities will turn to private sources of funding.

The more society polarises, the more likely that such funding would turn towards entrenchment of vested interests, rather than solutions to structural problems.

Education is controversial precisely because it is either a unifying social force or a divisive one.

One thing is clear, whilst the quantity of educated manpower is critical to national strength, quality may matter more.

The Soviet Union had the second largest share of educated manpower during the Cold War, but it did not save it from collapse.

Will our future education system provide leaders who are able to cope with the complexities of tomorrow?

As the poet T S Eliot asked in his poem “The Rock” in 1934, “where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?”

That question is being asked not just in universities, but by society as a whole.

Andrew Sheng writes on global issues from an Asian perspective. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. 

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Getting ready for Covid-19 vaccines

 The dreadful year is coming to an end with optimism and hope in the air as we greet 2021.

https://youtu.be/I6I3o0DvWL0

Royal approval: UAE’s Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum receiving an injection of a Covid-19 vaccine. — AFP

 COVID-19 Worldwide Dashboard - WHO Live World Statistics

THERE’S finally light at the end of the tunnel from a dark period in modern history. The race to complete the final stage of testing the Covid-19 vaccine is almost at the finish line.

In Britain, the vaccination exercise has kicked off with people above 80 years old, since they’re the most vulnerable to the dreadful virus.

But let’s not get carried away. Only the British government has expedited the approval because it’s bracing for a huge spike with the coming winter.

The United States government only officially approved the use of Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granting an emergency use authorisation for healthcare workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities in its first round of 2.9 million doses.

The FDA is responsible for protecting public health by ensuring safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs in the US. The FDA has always been used as a benchmark by most countries in providing approvals.

Last week, MyEG Services Bhd announced that it will work with Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co Ltd (Zhifei) to obtain the Malaysian halal certification for the Chinese biopharma company’s Covid-19 vaccine, and to exclusively distribute it in Malaysia for a three-year period.

It said the two companies had signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in conducting Phase 3 clinical trials of Zhifei’s vaccine in Malaysia and to meet the halal status requirements of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).

In September, loss-making Ho Wah Genting, which had been searching for a core-income generating business for a while, declared it was officially in the race to produce vaccines.

It announced that it had been appointed by a China-based diagnostic reagents manufacturer as its designated overseas sales agent for Covid-19 diagnostic products in Asean countries.

More recently, a Covid-19 research centre not linked to any medical institution, also sprouted and began issuing press releases to the media.

Firstly, let’s be clear that there’s nothing to stop the private sector from playing a role in the search for a vaccine source. In fact, I think it’s commendable that these companies are ready to play a complementary role.

If the intention is to help their bottom line, and in the process, propel their share prices, it’ll be up to shareholders to be mindful, and perhaps the Securities Commission to keep its eyes open.

Individuals hoping to set up a non-governmental organisation, including for Covid-19, have the right to do so, but their authority and credibility are for the public and media to decide.

The private sector, in fact, should be encouraged to take a stronger role in the fight against the pandemic, as the number of cases continue to climb in Malaysia.

The truth is, while we’ve relaxed the rules, with a crippling economy in mind, our situation has gotten worse. Let’s be honest – statistics don’t lie.

Only those with a warped mind, like conspiracy theorists, think the numbers in Malaysia have been manipulated and jacked up for political reasons. It’s an insult to dedicated professionals like Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and his team of frontliners, who haven’t taken a day off since the Movement Control Order (MCO) began in March.

The number of positive cases in Malaysia could likely be higher because only targeted areas and cases are tested, including travellers, medical treatment seekers and foreign workers.

The average daily cases (originally three digits in March and rendering us house bound) has passed the 2,000 mark now.

Most of us feel the end is near and that even with the staggering new numbers, we are certain that the cure is just round the corner, what with all the media hype over 90% efficacy by these drug companies.

Unfortunately, none of the vaccines have been approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency of Malaysia yet. Companies bringing in Covid-19 vaccines must also be registered with the NPRA – it doesn’t matter if these vaccines are from the UK, US, China or Russia.

I’ve been reliably informed that until today, no private companies have applied despite their announcements. So, nothing has been approved.

Like the US, Malaysia has also decided to wait until all the vaccines have completed the final stages of trials and are properly approved.

With the situation exceptionally dire there though, the FDA is reported to be ready to approve emergency use of Covid-19 vaccines in the US as more than 285,000 people have died from the virus.

But as with all testing, there will be cases of side effects, including fatalities. Tests are often called off and then resumed, which is normal, but if we are to read the Western media, only US and UK-made vaccines are good enough.

They have put the Chinese and Russian products in bad light by insinuating they are inferior products.

This isn’t just a question involving billions of dollars, but a race for political and diplomatic achievements.

It won’t be surprising if the US FDA refuses to approve the Chinese and Russian products. And if that happens, then those nations would need to turn to the World Health Organisation.

So many of us have been brain-washed into believing that everything from the West is good and most things from China are inferior or not of international standards.

The New York Times reported that researchers are currently testing 57 vaccines in clinical trials on humans, and at least 86 pre-clinical vaccines are under active investigation on animals.

I am told that China has provided its initial consignment of vaccines from state-owned Sinopharm to Malaysia, and that we would be carrying out trials with the Medical Research and Ethics Committee to finalise the stringent criteria.

Shipments of Beijing-based Sinovac’s vaccine, CoronaVac, have arrived in Indonesia in preparation for a mass vaccination campaign, with another 1.8 million doses due by next month.

Sinovac’s edge is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius, like Oxford’s AstraZeneca, while Moderna’s vaccine needs to be stored at -20 C and Pfizer’s at -70 C.

That means the Chinese and UK vaccines are more practical for developing countries like Malaysia. Otherwise, we’d have issues storing large amounts of vaccine at extremely low temperatures because special storage facilities will be needed, which seems almost out of the question for rural areas.

Then, there’s the halal issue. The concerns among Muslims about the shots containing substances forbidden by Islam is understandable as the same issue was also brought up by Muslims in Indonesia.

But here are some simple medical rules – the Malaysian government does not register a medicine based on halal or non-halal status. No medicine carries a Jakim sticker that says halal certified.

Malaysia has inked a deal with Pfizer to supply 12.8 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for 20% of the population. It has also reportedly entered a pact with Covax Facility, the global Covid-19 vaccine development platform, to cover another 10% of the population.

This is a life and death situation. No one needs to be an Islamic theology expert to know what Islam says about emergency cases relating to starvation or medical treatment. Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has reportedly said that “even if there is an ingredient which is not permissible, the chemical transformation process will make it clean and halal.”

The Special Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Malaysian Islamic Affairs met on Dec 3 to discuss whether the vaccine can be administered to Muslims.

Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamed Al-Bakri said the decision would be announced by the King.

Given the grounds to this concern, this is certainly the right course of action, especially in curtailing it from becoming both religious and political issues, or from companies exploiting the matter for commercial reasons by making all sorts of claims.

As someone privileged to have met Zulkifli, who tested positive himself, I can vouch that he is one of the most rational and practical Islamic scholars.

The United Arab Emirates, a Muslim country, has accepted the China-made Sinopharm and Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, is ready to take the vaccine from China, too. And Saudi Arabia has embraced Pfizer’s vaccine.

The end of Covid-19 is in sight for sure. The fact that Malaysia is already talking of vaccination and testing approaches, means we’re already making practical preparations.

Last week, I spoke to Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope, the chief executive officer of Pharmaniaga Bhd, the company tasked with bottling and transporting the Covid-19 vaccine for Malaysia.

The company is already preparing for the distribution of these vaccines and is just waiting for the government’s approval for the big day.

Zulkarnain is an excited man and rattled off details of what and how Pharmaniaga has readied itself to be part of history and saving lives.

For most Malaysians, 2020 has been a horrible year of Covid-19 and squabbling politicians.

What a toxic combination. For sure, we can’t wait to welcome 2021.

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Preparations in place for vaccine rollout

Research now in the final stages

From page 15 BEIJING: Research and development of coronavirus vaccines in China are at the final stages, with preparations in place for their mass production, said the head of the country’s Covid19 vaccine development task force.

There are five domestically developed vaccines under a phase-3 clinical trial, the final stage before attaining approval from the authorities, making China a leading country in Covid-19 vaccine development, said Zheng Zhongwei, who is also director of the National Health Commission’s development centre for medical science and technology.

Despite taking a leading role in Covid-19 vaccine research and development, China does not rush to compete in the field, Zheng told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Vaccines should be evaluated by criteria such as safety, effectiveness, accessibility and affordability before they are approved for market availability, he said, adding that China is being prepared for the mass production of vaccines. Researchers in China have been racing to develop Covid-19 vaccines. A total of 15 vaccines using five different technologies are under clinical trials in China.

Of them, five are undergoing phase-3 clinical trials in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Pakistan, as domestic trials involving many volunteers are not practical due to the effective control and prevention of the epidemic on the Chinese mainland.- ANN/THE STAR

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China develops advanced brain-like computer

The brain-like computer with over 100 million neurons. [Photo/zhejianglab.com Innovation - Chinadaily.com.cn]

China Focus: China develops advanced brain-like computer

HANGZHOU - A brain-like computer with over 100 million neurons, the first of its kind in China, has been developed by researchers in East China's Zhejiang province.

Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Lab on Tuesday jointly introduced the newly developed computer named Darwin Mouse.

This high-tech device contains 792 second-generation brain-like Darwin chips developed by Zhejiang University, said Zhu Shiqiang, director of Zhejiang Lab.

It supports 120 million spiking neurons and nearly 100 billion synapses, which are equivalent to the number of neurons in the brain of a mouse. The average power consumption of the computer comes in at only 350-500 watts.

"Just like building blocks, we integrated the 792 brain-like computing chips into three standard server chassis to form a powerful rack-mounted brain-like computer," said Pan Gang, leader of the research team, from College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University.

Meanwhile, the team also developed an operating system specifically designed for brain-like computers, named Darwin OS, which realizes effective management and scheduling of the hardware resources and supports operations and applications of brain-like computers.

According to researchers, brain-like computing refers to the use of hardware and software to simulate the structure and operating mechanism of the brain's neural network and construct a new artificial intelligence paradigm. It is an innovative computing architecture that is regarded as one of the important ways to solve complex computing-related problems in fields, such as artificial intelligence.

Pan added that this type of brain-like computer has been able to perform a variety of intelligent tasks, such as enabling the collaboration of multiple robots in simulated flood-fighting-and-rescue operations, simulating different regions of the brain and providing faster and large-scale simulation tools for scientific research. Besides, it has also realized "mind typing" through real-time decoding of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals.

"By simulating the human brain, we will be able to understand the working principles of different parts of the brain, which will help cure certain brain diseases that otherwise cannot be diagnosed through biomedical approaches," said Pan. "In the future, brain-like computers will have broader application prospects including three major areas of artificial intelligence, brain science and brain diseases."

"Brain-like computing is expected to emerge as an important form of computing in the future," said Wu Zhaohui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of Zhejiang University.

"It is the latest achievement of the brain science and artificial intelligence research project (referred to as the Double Brain Project). By emulating the structure and mechanism of the brain, this project is expected to develop a new computer architecture that will lead the future," said Wu.

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Why Huawei’s 5G technology is seen as a threat by the US

Reuters pic.

The term 5G stands for a fifth generation — to succeed the current fourth generation of mobile connectivity that has made video sharing and movie streaming commonplace.

The new technology will require an overhaul of telecommunication infrastructure.

The 5G will do more than make mobile phones faster — it will link billions of devices, revolutionising transportation, manufacturing and even medicine. It will also create a multitude of potential openings for bad actors to exploit.

The vulnerability helps explain the rising tension between the US and Huawei Technologies Co, China’s largest technology company.

Huawei is pushing for a global leadership role in 5G, but American officials suspect that could help Beijing spy on Western governments and companies.

“Huawei’s significant presence in 5G creates a new vector for possible cyber-espionage and malware,” Michael Wessel, a commissioner on the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission that advises Congress, said in an interview.

By connecting whole new classes of products, 5G “creates new vulnerabilities”.

The technology holds great promise. Forests of gadgets will communicate instantly via millions of antennas. Cars will talk to each other to avert lethal crashes, factory foremen will monitor parts supplies and doctors can perform remote surgery as video, sound and data flow without delay.

Connections will be 10 to 100 times faster than current standards — quick enough to download an entire movie in seconds.

Yet, US national security officials see billions of opportunities for spies, hackers and cyber-thieves to steal trade secrets, sabotage machinery and even order cars to crash.

Citing security threats, the US has been pushing allies to block Huawei from telecommunication networks. The US Congress has banned government agencies from buying the company’s gear.

Why is the United States intent on killing Huawei? Look at the data below:

Huawei employs more than 10,000 Phd degree holders as well as many talented Russian mathematicians.

Do you know how many Huawei employees earn more than 1 million yuan (RM603,280) a year? More than 10,000 people.

Do you know how many Huawei employees earn more than five million yuan a year? More than 1,000 people!

In China alone, Huawei’s research and development expenditure is 89.6 billion yuan.

Among the Big Three, Alibaba employs 30,000 people, Baidu 50,000, Tencent about 30,000, leading to a total of 110,000; but Huawei’s global employees total 170,000.

Alibaba’s profit is 23.4 billion yuan, Tencent’s 24.2 billion yuan, Baidu’s 10.5 billion yuan, and their profits total 58 billion yuan, but 70% is taken away by foreigners. Since 2000, Huawei has earned 1.39 trillion yuan from abroad.

In taxes, Tencent pays more than seven billion yuan a year, Alibaba 10.9 billion yuan, and Baidu 2.2 billion. Huawei pays 33.7 billion yuan, which is more than the total of the earlier three firms.

Huawei is a high-tech company, and technology represents the true strength of a country.

In China, many companies can’t last long because there are always other companies ready to replace them, but Huawei is irreplaceable.

Huawei is a 100% Chinese company that has not been listed and does not intend to go public because of the susceptibility to be controlled by capital (which the United States can simply print money to do).

Huawei is the first private technology company in China ever to join the league of the world’s top 100. The Chinese should be proud of Huawei.


Koon Yew Yin is a retired chartered civil engineer and one of the founders of IJM Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd.

The views expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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LiFi, instead of WiFi: Chinese scientists achieve Internet access through lightbulbs

Lightbulbs may one day be used for connecting to Internet

Successful experiments by Chinese scientists have indicated the possibility of the country's netizens getting online through signals sent by lightbulbs (LiFi), instead of WiFi.

Four computers under a one-watt LED lightbulb may connect to the Internet under the principle that light can be used as a carrier instead of traditional radio frequencies, as in WiFi, said Chi Nan, an information technology professor with Shanghai's Fudan University, on Thursday.

A lightbulb with embedded microchips can produce data rates as fast as 150 megabits per second, which is speedier than the average broadband connection in China, said Chi, who leads a LiFi research team including scientists from the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

With LiFi cost-effective as well as efficient, netizens should be excited to view 10 sample LiFi kits that will be on display at the China International Industry Fair that will kick off on Nov. 5 in Shanghai.

The current wireless signal transmission equipment is expensive and low in efficiency, said Chi.

"As for cell phones, millions of base stations have been established around the world to strengthen the signal but most of the energy is consumed on their cooling systems," she explained. "The energy utilization rate is only 5 percent."

Compared with base stations, the number of lightbulbs that can be used is practically limitless. Meanwhile, Chinese people are replacing the old-fashioned incandescent bulbs with LED lightbulbs at a fast pace.

"Wherever there is an LED lightbulb, there is an Internet signal," said Chi. "Turn off the light and there is no signal."

However, there is still a long way to go to make LiFi a commercial success.

"If the light is blocked, then the signal will be cut off," said Chi.

More importantly, according to the scientist, the development of a series of key related pieces of technology, including light communication controls as well as microchip design and manufacturing, is still in an experimental period.

The term LiFi was coined by Harald Haas from the University of Edinburgh in the UK and refers to a type of visible light communication technology that delivers a networked, mobile, high-speed communication solution in a similar manner as WiFi.

Contributed by Shanghai Xinhua  Editor: Fu Peng

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