Dewan Rakyat Night Session To Explain Space Research

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- A night session is being planned during the next session of the Dewan Rakyat to explain to interested MPs the outcome of micro gravity research conducted in space by Malaysia's astronaut in October 2007.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said on Monday that the MPs would be briefed on the results of the experiments carried out by astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha in the International Space Station (ISS) on the specimens he had brought back to Earth.

Replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak), he said follow-up studies were being conducted and that so far five patents had been filed for the technologies developed.

Tajuddin had asked Ongkili to state the allocation for research and development (R&D) led by the public and private sectors compared to that of the developed countries.

Ongkili said RM5.25 billion had been allocated for R&D during the Ninth Malaysia Plan period (2006-2010), of which RM3.4 billion was for the public sector and RM1.8 billion for the private sector.

He said a comparison in R&D with developed countries was made based on the Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD).

According to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009, Malaysia was in 39th position in the world and sixth among countries in Asia with GERD of US$1.06 billion or 0.64 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.

Ongkili said private sector contribution to R&D in Malaysia was the highest in the world, amounting to 85 per cent of total R&D expenditure compared to the United States (72 per cent), Japan and South Korea (77 per cent each).

He also said that 4,300 projects had been approved under the ninth plan, of which 290 were commercialised R&D output including patent (172), copyright (14) and trade mark (85).