The Star, June 19, 2008
Biotech to improve
lives
Malaysia joins 70 other countries in quest for
technology
By FOO YEE PING (newsdesk@thestar.com.my)
SAN DIEGO: The 2008 BIO International Convention
here sees Malaysia joining 70 other countries in a
continuous push for technology to improve the lives
of their population.
From “Terminator” Arnold Schwarzenneger, who, as
state governor, will speak on California’s stem cell
research, to the sub-Saharan poor needing food,
“biotechnology is about touching people’s lives”.
“It is not about people in white coats peering into
microscopes,” said Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood,
Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp)
chief executive officer.
Biotechnology, he said, was not the domain of the
elite, researchers and entrepreneurs but also the
rural folks.
He said technology was pervasive but mere enabler.
“Let’s go beyond it. It can be used to heal people
clean up rivers. Can you tell me anybody who does
not need medication?” he told Malaysian journalists
on Tuesday.
Likewise, he said, biotechnology could seek solution
for alternative energy, which would benefit people
relying on coal for fuel.
An 82-member delegation led by Science, Technology
and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili is
talking part in four-day exhibition with the theme
“innovate, Heal, Fuel, Feed the World”.
This is Malaysia’s fourth outing in the world’s
largest annual biotech gathering of life science
companies.
The San Diego country is reportedly home to the
world’s third biggest concentration of biotechnology
companies.
Dr. Ongkili said Malaysia was seeking new
technologies and practices, besides following up on
what it had achieved previously.
“We are here to network, meet scientist and know the
market-places,” he said, besides sending out word on
investment opportunities in Malaysia.
“We want people to know Malaysia’s strength,” he
added. “That is why the one-to-one business
discussions are being held.”
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