19 Zulkaedah 1434
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 24, 2014- The government encourages the setting up of data management centres in Malaysia to develop the national information technology (IT) industry, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said the setting up of the latest data management centres was among the matters being given attention by the government.
Speaking to the media after chairing the 3rd annual general meeting of the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) in San Francisco, Tuesday, he said the effort, however, might be constrained in terms of getting those with the capabilities such as data scientists in Malaysia.
Najib said Malaysia was capabable of developing such centres because it had a unique capability, wide area, suitable structure and could offer incentives.
Prime Minister said the development would also result in the country needing thousands of data scientists in the future.
He said he had also met several Malaysian companies which had transformed and had morphed from being sited in the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) (in Malaysia) to venturing into partnerships with their share-partners from the Silicon Valley, United States.
"To the extent their products can now be sold in the global market," Najib said.
He said the companies were PULSATE Sdn Bhd, INTEL Corporation, Revolution Analytics Inc, MOL Global Pte Ltd, Rixty Inc, Joota Ventures Sdn Bhd, BrandX Development LLC and XYBASE MSC Sdn Bhd.
To expand further the innovation culture, Najib said companies which sought to implement innovations but in the end encountered failure should not be penalised because innovation was encouraged as a normal culture practice in the Silicon Valley.
He said their failures were sometimes caused by their bravery in trying something new and sometimes the causes were beyond their control.
Najib said the meeting also discussed efforts to provide more skilled workers for the teaching of English, the process of enhancing ability to use technology to shorten lead times and other innovative measures.
Among others, he said, was the development of 'smart urban development' in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, which was tabled by the Iskandar Regional Development Authority.
Also discussed was the Rimbunan Kasih project which was jointly developed by the IRIS corporation and the federal government as a very attractive 'Smart Rural Development' model.
The GSAIC meeting on Tuesday was also briefed on Malaysia's Permata Pintar early childhood programme whereby some of the students with high IQ were exposed to the experience of visiting New York and meeting American scientists there.
"They (the American scientists) have also visited UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) and given ideas on how the interests of the children can be fostered as would-be-scientists and future Nobel Laureates.
"This is our aspiration, whereby in deciding on educational opportunities, we should not necessarily see in terms of giving access to those with normal abilities only but also to those with extraordinary and unique abilities with unique programmes which do not hamper them from achieving their maximum potential," he said.
This can be carried out with the American scientific community with the forming of GSIAC because this sort of cooperation is very beneficial to Malaysia and many other nations want to follow in Malaysia's footsteps.
Asked on the outcome of his visit to the Twitter's headquarters on Tuesday, Najib said he had discussed with the management of Twitter on the possibility of using the social media network for disaster alert in the event of disasters to enable prompt action to be taken.
The GSIAC meeting was joined by national and international council members which are global experts on science and innovation.
GSIAC was founded by the Prime Minister in 2010 as part of his continuous effort to transform Malaysia into becoming a high income nation by boosting Malaysia's capability in science and innovation.
More information: BERNAMA
