MY SAY: Innovation in the age of unequals
MY SAY
The Edge Malaysia - 02-05-2011
Five, four, three, two, one... Innovation Lift-off! This was on April 19 when, for the first time, the newly created Unit Inovasi Khas — now called Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) — showcased Malaysia's potential intellectual and commercial wealth. It was aimed at harnessing the nation's new sources of knowledge in tandem with the New Economic Model of being a high-income, inclusive and sustainable economy.
Interestingly enough, on April 12 some 50 years ago, the world witnessed the first lift-off into space. On that eventful day, Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (1934-1968) became the first human being to journey into outer space in his Vostok spacecraft by completing an orbit of earth. He not only became a hero in space history, but also spurred a space race that eventually led to the first human setting foot on the moon. This then resulted in the development of commercial space flight.
It may be far-fetched to compare our Innovation Lift-off with the Gagarin's lift-off into space but the principles are not that different. In fact, space travel is in many respects an innovation lift-off.
The most crucial point is how the Soviet breakthrough "lifted" the lid off what seemed like an impossible dream. It motivated competition, no doubt due to the insecurity, egoism or even survival instinct of individuals to nations to empires.
When done properly and with the right attitude, this pushes knowledge forward and opens up other spaces for newer innovations. The impact is the uplifting of the economy and general quality of life. For Malaysia, this means moving forward to embed the elements of inclusiveness and sustainability in the process of creating much-needed wealth in whatever form.
Previous failures were due to the lack of attention to such intangibles in the rush to leap forward, invariably leaving many far behind. Now the failures have come back to haunt us.
But this is not just a Malaysian story. It is happening the world over — a global phenomenon — where the divide between the rich and the poor is widening. These are the disparities that are threatening peace and even survival. The political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is the latest testimony to what the outcome could be.
Some people are even suggesting that we are in "The Age of Unequals". For instance, in the US, increasing inequality is something that has become difficult to deny. In fact, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz recently said that assault on social spending and pro-rich tax cuts were turning the US into a nation "of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%". "It's not just that the people at the top are getting richer," he pointed out.
"Actually, they're gaining, and everybody else is decreasing ... And right now, we are worse than old Europe."
This is a bit like the space exploration example. The resources spent on the missions to outer space could be used to benefit a larger part of the global population. We do not need rocket science, as it were, to substantially narrow the gaps that have been plaguing the human race for a very long time.
Viewed from this context, the 23 specially selected ecosystem and wealth-creation initiatives that are supposed to unearth Malaysia's intellectual wealth must be focused enough to do exactly that. That said, it is heartening to note that a number of the chosen projects are meant to create an environment where innovation succeeds across the board.
Of particular interest are projects such as electricity from every window (involving the harnessing of light energy), energy management for the future (reducing the carbon footprint) and superior thermal transfer (cutting-edge technology for light-emitting diodes) which have wide societal applications. This means it is not just about being profitable in the commercial sense. Deep thought must be given to how the spillovers can be shared by society at large to enhance inclusiveness and sustainability.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the finance minister, recently highlighted the fact that the global market for the wealth-creation sectors was worth an estimated US$472 billion (RM1.43 trillion). He said we need to carve a niche that will be lucrative for Malaysia and that the global market for ventures initiated by public-funded institutions such as universities and public research institutes was worth about US$101 billion.
At the end of it all, as the prime minister remarked, we must change the status quo of what we know as wealth creation now. The fact that Innovation Lift-off was held in the garage of the Prime Minister's Building — instead of the usual five-star hotel — is a remarkable illustration of what challenging the status quo is all about. In fact, Najib reminded the audience that many successful innovations had their origins in a humble garage, notably the computer by Apple, which is now recognised as the world's most innovative company.
It is hoped that Innovation Lift-off will produce an impact that is similar to that created by cosmonaut Gagarin, at least at mindset level.
Investment alone is no longer sufficient in today's globalised environment. Malaysians have to look at more ways of creating wealth. Without that, we risk being left far behind, which means our hope of boosting Malaysia's growth beyond Vision 2020 will just wither away.
* The writer is the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia. He can be contacted at vc@usm.my