A stable Sarawak govt will boost digital progress

     by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

On Dec 18, the people of Sarawak will vote in a new government. A two-thirds majority is what will ensure stability.

Only a stable government can implement the many plans needed to bring progress to the state.

In this era of digital innovation, I think Sarawak has embarked on the right path to digitalise the many instruments of nation building.

I have been observing Sarawak in recent years. I am confident that if the state sticks to the many plans in place, it will in no time emerge as one of the country's richest states, challenging the position held by Selangor and Penang.

Sarawak is blessed with natural resources, including forest resources, as well natural assets for renewable energy development, especially hydropower.

The state is rich in offshore petroleum resources. What the state needs to maximise value from such resources is to create the right innovation ecosystem to attract local and foreign investments.

I believe Sarawak has been serious about creating such an ecosystem to drive innovation.

Take the harvesting of forest resources. Years of unsustainable logging practices have been replaced by sustainable timber harvesting.

The change in logging practices started during the stewardship of the late chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem, and Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, who took over as chief minister, has remained committed to that policy.

Many consider this move as wise and positive for the state.

It would be good if Sarawak also embarks on forest plantations to augment the supply of logs for the downstream timber industry.

Rubber tree has emerged as a favourite forest plantation species in many trials.

Together with the timber biomass from Sarawak's large swathe of oil palm plantations, the state is poised to generate lucrative economic rewards in the coming years.

Furniture making is one option to add value to the state's forest resources.

It was during the time of Abang Johari as chief minister that Sarawak grew serious about digitalisation.

As soon as he came into office, he launched Sarawak's digital economy blueprint.

The progress has been encouraging as the state implemented initiatives to transform Sarawak into a smart state, including transforming its capital, Kuching, into a smart city by banking on digitalisation.

I had the opportunity to interview the Sarawak Digital chief executive officer in our production of a book, "Malaysia Smart City Outlook".

It became clear that Kuching is ahead of other cities in the country on the smart city initiative.

Soon after, the government formalised the establishment of the Sarawak Research Council (SRC).

I consider that as another milestone in moving the agenda of the technology innovation ecosystem for Sarawak.

The latest that has come out from the SRC is the initiative to set up the Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC).

This is seen as a wise move as the world now views investment in public health as critical, with the forecast that infectious diseases management is destined to be a big global business, after the bad experience with the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is no denying that Sarawak has set itself up as an exemplary state when it comes to harnessing the power of the digital technology.

One feature that other states should also emulate is the capitalisation of the state's university resources to drive innovation.

SRC works with the top academic institutions in the state, especially Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and UCSI University.

With UCSI, there is active consultation on digitalising the hospitality and tourism sector, which is a major component of the state's economy.

Unimas supports the projects under SIDC.

I am sure the expertise in other colleges and universities in the state is included in the innovation ecosystem.

With these initiatives, Sarawak is on the right path to gain from the digital economy.

Ignoring science at our peril

    by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

LETTERS: I recently came across news that Lynas, the rare earths processing company that has been the subject of much ridicule, is busy putting the final touches to its new plant in Texas, United States.

Many of our local people who work for Lynas in Kuantan are among the team involved in the Texas plant. What a pity. We are still entangled in the unnecessary controversy of getting Lynas out of the country.

While others are exploring opportunities emerging in the downstream uses of rare earths, there are those here who still argue about the waste produced by that rare earths processing facility.

Speaking to a radiation expert recently, I came to realise the tragic consequences of ignorance that befall us.

He was appalled by the fuss caused by some, when, in actual fact, the radiation level of the Lynas residues, at less than one unit, poses no danger.

In fact, the radiation level of the amang from tin mines, often left openly unattended, is higher.

What is even more mind-boggling is that the Lynas plant residues are rich in phosphates, a fertiliser that we import in large quantities for the plantation industry.

What is unacceptable is when such ignorance comes from leaders who are comparatively more educated.

Those in the know view such ignorance as a tragedy for the nation.

This is because, as a result of the uncalled for controversy, the country has missed the opportunity to capitalise on the presence of Lynas in our midst.

The truth is the rare earths elements that Lynas supplies to the world present a lot of economic opportunities for our country.

We talk a lot about making the country a high-income economy. But what we practise is in conflict with these aspirations.

How can we achieve the high-income target if our minimum wage is below the poverty level? Even the RM1,500 level suggested by the government is ridiculed by some.

Instead of hounding Lynas, we should instead expand our investment in rare earths.

According to the nation's geologists, there are areas in the country that have rich deposits of rare earths.

We should start to responsibly mine these treasures instead of exporting bare earths as we did in the bauxite scandal.

If we are to achieve a high-income economy, we should look at how to add value to our raw materials.

Our manufacturers should be incentivised to produce intermediates as well as final products from rare earths. We should promote foreign direct investment in rare earth-based products.

Making high-powered magnets is a popular route taken by countries. These magnets will find demand in many applications, including those needed in electric mobility and the military.

And we all know that the future of transport is in electric. We should not miss this opportunity to be a player in this business.

Ignorance in the science of rare earths is one tragedy we should learn from and make amends. The other that troubles the nation now is the ignorance of vaccination science.

This is despite vaccination being deployed for decades in the management of infectious diseases all over the world.

This is also despite all the evidences shared by scientists around the world. Instead of spreading falsehoods about vaccination, we should tell people about the science.

Conspiracy theories bandied around are not backed by evidence. It is unfortunate that those who are ignorant are taken in by fake claims.

It is time we wake up to the consequences of ignorance.

We will miss out on opportunities that can bring positive change to the nation.

States should invest in desalination to solve water woes

   by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

THE past few months have been trying for Penang. The state has been struggling to seek new water sources to meet its growing demand.

It is inevitable that the state's demand for water will continue to rise.

This shows the very critical role of water in the economy. Kedah was first approached and later Perak, but both efforts proved futile. The reason is simple. Kedah and Perak have done their homework on water demand.

As both states pursue their own economic agenda, they will need water for their own use. Any interstate water transfer is, at best, a stop-gap measure to increase water supply in Penang. All states must look for longer-term sources.

The irony of the country's water issue is that we can sometimes have a deluge of supply, especially during the monsoon. But most often, we fail to capture it as it eventually drains off to the sea.

Some will replenish the groundwater supply. These sudden deluges often cause problems, such as floods and landslides.

The situation has gotten worse as more of our natural forests have been cleared for development. Of course, we need to open land for development. But of greater concern is when the clearing is done in sensitive water catchment areas.

Such forested areas have been acting as sponges for water collection. With the gradual disappearance of such areas, water would simply gush down rivers at high speed, causing floods that devastate homes and properties, and take away lives.

We know that more than 90 per cent of the Earth is covered in water. But the bulk is saline seawater, which is not what we really want.

We need fresh water for agriculture, manufacturing and of course, for the household.

Fortunately, there are ways to obtain fresh water from seawater. The trick is to remove the salt. The process of removing salt, or desalination, involves reducing the seawater's salinity to make it suitable for use.

In the past, desalination was done by evaporating seawater. The steam from the evaporation process is cooled and condensed into fresh water, leaving salt as residue.

There are new ways to do desalination. We owe it to the development of membrane technology. As a result of improvements in the design of the membrane process, as well as the development of new membrane materials, the cost of desalination has come down significantly.

One problem with membranes is "fouling", which leads to the clogging of the membrane's holes. This reduces its capacity to separate water from salt.

However, as a result of research, there are now new membrane materials that can operate for a long period without fouling.

Such a technological breakthrough has made membrane desalination an attractive proposition. Who knows, with more research, there will be more improvements in the coming years. One should never discount the power of research and development.

Over the years, more countries have turned to desalination for the supply of fresh water. Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states have long depended on desalinated water.

Singapore has also invested in desalination plants to resolve its water woes. The republic must have realised that it would be impractical to depend on supply from Johor forever.

Penang should do likewise if it wants to avoid a chronic water shortage.

In fact, using the same argument, even the other states should seriously consider investing in desalination facilities. Melaka, which has experienced a serious water shortage before, can benefit from this.

There were a few occasions when the state was brought to its knees due to water shortages. It is time for us to give serious consideration to desalination technology.