Innovation is the process
of translating an idea or invention into goods or services that creates value
or for which customers will pay. To be called an innovation, an idea must be
replicable at an economical cost and must satisfy a specific need. Innovation
involves application of information, imagination and initiative in deriving
greater or different values from resources, and includes all processes by which
new ideas are generated and converted into useful products. In business,
innovation often results when ideas are applied by the company in order to
further satisfy the needs and expectations of the customers.
Has Malaysia move forward
in its path to become a high-income, knowledge based country? Generally everybody
agrees that Malaysia has stuck in the middle. There have been hefty
pronouncements by politician and the government that we need to buckle up. It
won’t be easy, changing the mind-set and culture of the nation to be an
innovative driven society but this is one transformation that must be done.
We’re eight years away from 2020, the deadline we placed upon Malaysia to
become a self-sufficient industrialised country. Eight years is certainly a
short period of time, and we have a lot of work to do to achieve the goals
enshrined in Vision 2020.
Malaysia needs to change
the way we have been doing things in business, government, academic and society
itself because we must look at new key ingredients to take us to the next
level. This is why the government has made Innovation and Transformation as the
key thrusts in our way forward. Through bodies such as Malaysian Innovation
Agency, the government is revamping the necessary elements of innovation to
ensure that all groups in society, including academic, industry, the society
and government itself, collaborate and move in the same direction.
Innovation will be the
next driver the Malaysian economy because innovation-driven economy will enable
the nation to further develop its science and technology sector. This needs to
happen if the country aspires to surge ahead of countries already famous for
their science and technology prowess, like South Korea and Japan. A fledgling
innovation economy in the country would open up opportunities for local
talents, thus reducing the brain-drain problem. However, the minister of
Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said, he and his
ministry is also reaching out to talented Malaysian overseas to encourage them
to share their knowledge and expertise with their counterparts in the science
and technology sector at home. Certain research areas, such as aerospace, cyber
security and nuclear power, could do with contributions from our talented
scientists residing overseas. As an added measure to encourage innovative thinking
among Malaysians, the ministry will be rolling out the National Innovation
Foundation soon, and has declared 2010 as the year of creativity and
innovation.
The Malaysian government
has implemented initiatives to support and encourage innovation, such as the
establishment of the National Innovation Centre and Technology Acquisition
Fund. Recognizing that enhancing
research and development (R&D) is essential to driving innovation, there
seems to be a growing understanding that the commercial applicability
of R&D products is equally paramount. A host of challenges contribute to
the low levels of innovation in Malaysia, top of which seem to be the lack of
public and private spending on R&D activities, a fledgling venture capital
market, and low levels of small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs)
participation in research and innovative activity
Malaysia does seem poised
to foster innovation and increase productivity in the economy. However, even
the best plans have no value when implementation is poor. Let’s hope that we
will see these initiatives through so that Malaysia can reach its full
competitive and economic potential. Only when the spirit of change,
transformation and innovation is alive in the masses would we have a chance at
achieving our dreams of becoming an Innovation Nation by 2020
