Creativity & Innovation Week was launched on 15 April 09 at the National Science Center by Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) YB Tuan Hj Fadilah Yusof. Over 100 guests – officials from MOSTI and FRIM, our partners and members of MACRI - were present to witness this event. Highlight of the Creativity & Innovation Week is the Bamboo Expo which showcases a wide and unique range of creative products from bamboo – crafts, musical instruments, gazebo, model houses, furniture, construction materials, and others. MACRI is honored that MOSTI supports our initiative to promote creativity and innovation through this platform. To quote a line from YB Tuan Hj Fadilah Yusof’s speech at the launching ceremony:
“The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), fully support this kind of initiatives, one which is aimed at stirring up interest and involvement in matters concerning creativity and innovation, not only amongst governmental and corporate circles, but also amongst people from various other organizations including all levels of learning institutions, from primary schools to colleges and universities.”
“In my mind, I think that bamboo is a material that carries with it the connotation of something that is very ‘grassroot’. Bamboo is something that the common folks in our country can identify with. The amazing thing about bamboo is that it is such a versatile material, with so much untapped potential, that it is also said to have a thousand uses. It is a material that holds much promise, which should be explored and exploited.”
By: Ramesh Pillai
Executive Secretary
MACRI
Below are some of the photos that I took during the event and full text of the Deputy Minister’s speech:-
SPEECH BY YB TUAN HJ FADILLAH BIN YUSOF
DEPUTY MINISTER OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
AT CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK LAUNCHING CEREMONY
WEDNESDAY, 15 APRIL 2009. PUSAT SAINS NEGARA, KUALA LUMPUR
YANG BERBAHAGIA DATO’ GHAZI SHEIKH RAMLI
FOUNDER / PRESIDENT, MALAYSIAN ASSOCIATION OF CREATIVITY & INNOVATION (MACRI)
YANG BERUSAHA DR. MOHAMAD NOOR BIN MOHD YUSOF
SENIOR DIRECTOR, FOREST PRODUCT DIVISION, FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE MALAYSIA (FRIM)
YANG BERUSAHA DR. AB RAHMAN AWANG, DIRECTOR, PUSAT SAINS NEGARA
SENIOR OFFICIALS FROM THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA
TAN SRI-TAN SRI, DATO’-DATO’, DATIN-DATIN
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
ASSALAMUALAIKUM WBT AND GOOD MORNING.
IT IS WITH GREAT HONOUR FOR ME TO BE INVITED TO OFFICIATE THIS MORNING’S EVENT, THE LAUNCHING OF THE CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK WHICH STARTS TODAY 15TH OF APRIL UNTIL 21ST APRIL, STRETCHING OVER 7 DAYS OF PROGRAMS, SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES, ALL REVOLVING AROUND CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION.
MAY I BEGIN BY CONGRATULATING THE MALAYSIAN ASSOCIATION OF CREATIVITY & INNOVATION (MACRI), THE FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE MALAYSIA (FRIM), AS WELL AS PUSAT SAINS NEGARA (PSN), FOR THEIR COMMENDABLE EFFORT IN ORGANIZING THIS IMPORTANT AND TIMELY EVENT. IT IS ESPECIALLY HEARTHENING FOR ME PERSONALLY, TO SEE AN NGO AND TWO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ACTIVELY WORKING HAND – IN - HAND, TO PLAN AND PUT TO ACTION SUCH KIND OF EVENT.
I HAVE BEEN MADE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS EVENT HAS BEEN ORGANIZED. THE FIRST CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK WAS HELD LAST YEAR IN 2008, ALSO IN APRIL, AND I HAVE ALSO BEEN MADE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK IS GOING TO BE AN ANNUAL AFFAIR. THIS EVENT IS NOT ONLY TAKING PLACE IN MALAYSIA, BUT ALSO IN MORE THAN 40 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE.
THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION, MOSTI, FULLY SUPPORT THIS KIND OF INITIATIVES, ONE WHICH IS AIMED AT STIRRING UP INTEREST AND INVOLVEMENT IN MATTERS CONCERNING CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION , NOT ONLY AMONGST GOVERNMENTAL AND CORPORATE CIRCLES, BUT ALSO AMONGST PEOPLE FROM VARIOUS OTHER ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING ALL LEVELS OF LEARNING INSTITUTIONS, FROM PRIMARY SCHOOLS TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
I AM CONVINCED, THAT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION CUTS ACROSS ALL SECTORS OF OUR SOCIETY, AND IT SHOULD INVOLVE EVERYONE, FROM SCHOOL-GOING CHILDREN TO SENIOR CITIZENS. IT SHOULD INCLUDE THE ENTIRE NATION, FROM GOVERNMENT LEADERS TO CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRIES AND BUSINESSES , FROM MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMIA TO BUSINESSMEN AND ENTREPRENEURS , FROM THE TOP AND ALL THE WAY TO THE GRASSROOTS . INDEED , CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IS FOR ALL .
WHEN I LOOK AT THE VARIOUS PROGRAMS SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK , I NOTICED THAT THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE . THERE IS A WORKSHOP FOR UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS , A WORKSHOP FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS , A SEMINAR FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS , A SEMINAR FOR CORPORATE AUDIENCE , AND SO ON . ON THIS NOTE , I APPLAUD THE ORGANIZERS FOR HAVING SUCH A BROAD PERSPECTIVE ABOUT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION . FOR THEIR ACCURATE UNDERSTANDING THAT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IS FOR ALL .
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
YOU WILL AGREE WITH ME THAT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT , WHENEVER THE WORD ‘CREATIVITY’ IS MENTIONED , IT IS ALWAYS NARROWLY ASSOCIATED WITH PEOPLE IN THE FIELDS OF ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT . WE OFTEN ASSUME THAT IT IS ONLY THE ARTISTS AND SONG WRITERS WHO ARE CREATIVE . GENERALLY , WE DO NOT CONSIDER OURSELVES TO BE CREATIVE AND WE TEND TO THINK THAT SINCE WE CANNOT PAINT OR COMPOSE MUSIC WELL , THEN WE ARE NOT CREATIVE , WHICH IS A GREAT MISCONCEPTION !
ON THE OTHER HAND , WHENEVER THE WORD ‘INNOVATION’ IS MENTIONED , IT IS QUICKLY ASSOCIATED WITH SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS , AND PEOPLE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT . WHEN WE THINK OF SOMETHING INNOVATIVE , WE IMMEDIATELY THINK OF THE LATEST HANDPHONE MODEL OR OTHER ELECTRONICS GADGETS . WE TEND TO THINK THAT INNOVATION IS A DISCIPLINE THAT IS TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED AND TECHNICAL WHICH IS ALSO ANOTHER GREAT MISCONCEPTION .
THE FACT THAT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THIS MORNING IS THAT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IS FOR EVERYONE . WE WANT TO CONVINCE MALAYSIANS , AND CHANGE THEIR MINDSET , THAT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IS SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN LEARN , EMBRACE AND PRACTICE , NOT ONLY IN THEIR WORKPLACE BUT ALSO IN THEIR HOMES . INDEED , CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION SHOULD BE ADOPTED AS A WAY OF LIFE FOR EVERYONE .
IN THIS RESPECT , I AM PLEASED TO BRING THE AUDIENCE’S ATTENTION THIS MORNING , THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA HAS RECENTLY ESTABLISHED ‘YAYASAN INOVASI MALAYSIA’ , OR ‘MALAYSIA INNOVATION FOUNDATION’ WHICH WAS SET UP IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR , AND IS CHAIRED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF SCIENCE , TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION WHERE THE PATRON IS THE HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER .
MORE IMPORTANTLY , I WISH TO ALERT THE AUDIENCES TO THE FACT THAT IT IS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF YAYASAN INOVASI MALAYSIA (YIM) , TO BRING INNOVATION TO THE GRASSROOTS . BY USING THE TERM ‘ GRASSROOTS ’ , I AM REFERRING TO OUR CITIZENS NOT ONLY IN CITIES AND URBAN CENTERS , BUT ALSO OUR PEOPLE IN THE RURAL AREAS AND KAMPUNGS . THE TERM ‘GRASSROOTS’ ALSO ENCOMPASSES OUR WOMEN FOLKS AND YOUTH WHERE THE NATION CANNOT GO FORWARD IF ANY OF THESE GROUPS ARE LEFT OUT .
THROUGH YIM , THE GOVERNMENT IS ENTHUSIASTIC IN MOBILIZING THE NATION TO THINK CREATIVELY AND INNOVATIVELY . TO THIS END , IT IS OUR HOPE THAT EVERY MALAYSIAN WILL BE AWARE THAT HE OR SHE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO OUR NATION BUILDING BY TAPPING INTO HIS OR HER CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE POTENTIALS AND CAPABILITIES .
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
SOME OF YOU MAY WONDER WHY WE ARE SO CONCERNED THAT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IS PROMOTED IN SUCH A WAY ? IN OTHER WORDS , WHY SHOULD CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION BE PROMOTED FROM THE GRASSROOTS ? WHY CAN’T CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION BE CONFINED TO JUST THOSE WHO ARE HIGHLY EDUCATED , TRAINED , OR GIFTED ? WHY DO WE NEED TO INVOLVE EVERYBODY ?
THESE ARE PERTINENT QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED . IN FACT , MANY OF YOU MUST HAVE HEARD THE TERM ‘INNOVATION’ MENTIONED TIME AND AGAIN BY OUR LEADERS . WHY SHOULD IT INVOLVE EVERYBODY ? MY ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS THAT INNOVATION IS UNDENIABLY THE WAY FORWARD FOR US COLLECTIVELY AS A NATION . INNOVATION IS THE KEY TO OUR CONTINUED PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY , NOW AND IN THE FUTURE . NOWADAYS , WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ‘PROGRESS’ AND ‘PROSPERITY’ , EVERYONE IS A STAKEHOLDER . FOR PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY TO REACH EVERYONE , ALL MUST BE INVOLVED . IT IS A HUGE RESPONSIBILITY THAT CANNOT BE BORNE BY JUST A SELECTED NUMBER . IT IS A NATIONAL AGENDA FOR ALL CITIZENS .
LOOKING BACK , IT IS A FACT THAT WE HAVE ENJOYED GOOD GROWTH OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES , THANKS TO THE VISION AND DIRECTION SET BY OUR LEADERS OVER THE PAST YEARS . THE ONE VEHICLE THAT HAS CERTAINLY SERVED US WELL HAS BEEN ICT , WHICH HAS PROPELLED MALAYSIA TO NEW HEIGHTS AMONG THE MULTITUDES OF NATIONS , ESPECIALLY IN THE ASIAN ARENA . THE MULTIMEDIA SUPER CORRIDOR WITH ITS ACCOMPANYING ACHIEVEMENTS , IS SOMETHING ALL MALAYSIANS CAN BE PROUD OF .
HAVING SAID THAT , LET ME REITERATE THAT IT WOULD BE FOOLISH FOR US TO ASSUME THAT ICT AND OTHER FORMULAS THAT HAVE PROVEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR , WILL CONTINUE TO ENSURE OUR FUTURE PROSPERITY . WE CANNOT AFFORD TO DEPEND ON THE SAME OLD WAYS OF DOING THINGS , ESPECIALLY WHEN THE WORLD ECONOMIC ORDER IS CHANGING AT SUCH A FRANTIC PACE . DO YOU ALL REALIZE THAT A NEW WORLD ECONOMIC ORDER IS SLOWLY BUT SURELY EMERGING FROM THE CURRENT GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS ?
GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SUCCESSFULLY BEFORE , CAN ALSO BE REPEATED SUCCESSFULLY TOMORROW . THE BOUNDARIES OF PROSPERITY ARE CONSTANTLY SHIFTING . NATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR MAY NOT THRIVE IN THE FUTURE. CONVERSELY , NATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN LAGGING BEHIND MAY SOON BECOME THE NEW FOCAL POINTS OF ECONOMIC POWER . THE WORLD IS IN SUCH A DYNAMIC STATE THAT NEW APPROACHES ARE URGENTLY NEEDED BY NATIONS THAT DO NOT WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND .
WHAT KIND OF NEW APPROACHES YOU MAY ASK ? WE AT MOSTI AND THE GOVERNMENT ARE CONVINCED THAT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IS ONE SUCH APPROACH . CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION WILL DO FOR US TODAY AND TOMORROW , WHAT ICT DID FOR US YESTERDAY . AND IT IS NOT ENOUGH THAT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION BE BORNE BY A SELECTED FEW .
INSTEAD , CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MUST BE SHOULDERED BY EVERYONE , YOUNG AND OLD , CHILDREN AND ADULTS , MALE AND FEMALE , URBAN AND RURAL , EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES . BASED ON THIS LINE OF THINKING , I WISH TO INFORM THE AUDIENCE THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA , THROUGH THE YAYASAN INOVASI MALAYSIA WHICH I MENTIONED EARLIER , IS ACTIVELY PLANNING TO PROMOTE AND CHAMPION CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN A BIG WAY , FROM NOW AND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR 2010 .
SEVERAL MAJOR PROGRAMS ARE ON THE DRAWING BOARD TO BRING THE POWER OF INNOVATION TO THE PEOPLE , AND TO EMPOWER THE GRASSROOTS WITH INNOVATIVE THINKING . YOU WILL SOON BE HEARING SOME MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS ON THESE INITIATIVES , FROM YIM AND MOSTI . YOU MAY DESCRIBE THESE EFFORTS AS A PROCESS TO ‘DEMOCRATIZE INNOVATION’ . FOR EXAMPLE , A MAJOR PROGRAM IN THE PIPELINE IS THE IDEAS CARNIVAL IN KUALA LUMPUR IN 2010 , WHICH WILL BE MODELED AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL IDEAS FESTIVAL HELD BI-ANNUALLY IN BRISBANE , AUSTRALIA .
AS A MATTER OF FACT , I AM PLEASED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT AT THE END OF LAST MONTH , MOSTI SENT A DELEGATION TO THE IDEAS FESTIVAL IN BRISBANE , TO ESTABLISH TIES WITH THE ORGANIZERS THERE , TO OBSERVE HOW THE EVENT WAS ORGANIZED , AND TO STUDY THE INNOVATION MOVEMENT THERE . WHAT WE SAW THERE , WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO CONVINCE US THAT THE PATH WE HAVE CHOSEN AT THE YIM AND AT MOSTI , IS BOTH TIMELY AND URGENT .
WHEN WE ANNOUNCE THESE INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS IN THE NEAR FUTURE , I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR KIND SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION . OUR PLANS TO BRING INNOVATION TO THE GRASSROOTS CAN ONLY WORK WITH THE SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION OF ALL PARTIES . IN THIS SENSE , I AM DELIGHTED TO SEE THIS CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK TAKING PLACE FROM TODAY UNTIL NEXT TUESDAY . THIS IS A GLIMPSE OF WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF, IF WE ALL PUT OUR MINDS AND HANDS TOGETHER TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN .
IT IS ALSO APPROPRIATE FOR ME AT THIS POINT , TO SINGLE OUT THE BAMBOO FORUM TAKING PLACE THIS SATURDAY , AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE VAST POTENTIAL FOR THE FUTURE . I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS ONE-DAY FORUM , AS PART OF THE CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK , WILL BE ATTENDED BY RESEARCHERS , ACADEMICIANS , STUDENTS , ENTREPRENEURS , BUSINESSMEN , CORPORATE REPRESENTATIVES , GOVERNMENT OFFICERS , MEMBERS FROM VARIOUS NGOS , AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC . THE WIDE CROSS-SECTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS OF THIS FORUM CERTAINLY AUGURS WELL FOR THE FUTURE .
IN ADDITION , THE FACT THAT THE FORUM IS ABOUT BAMBOO , IS ALSO SOMETHING WE SHOULD ALL TAKE NOTE OF . SOME OF YOU MAY WONDER , WHY BAMBOO ? WHY SELECT THIS MATERIAL AS A THEME FOR THIS CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK ? I NOTICED IN THE PROGRAM SHEET THAT THERE WILL ALSO BE A BAMBOO DESIGN WORKSHOP ON SUNDAY , IN ADDITION TO THE BAMBOO FORUM ON SATURDAY .
IN MY MIND , I THINK THAT BAMBOO IS A MATERIAL THAT CARRIES WITH IT THE CONNOTATION OF SOMETHING THAT IS VERY ‘GRASSROOT’ . BAMBOO IS SOMETHING THAT THE COMMON FOLKS IN OUR COUNTRY CAN IDENTIFY WITH . THE AMAZING THING ABOUT BAMBOO IS THAT IT IS SUCH A VERSATILE MATERIAL , WITH SO MUCH UNTAPPED POTENTIAL , THAT IT IS ALSO SAID TO HAVE A THOUSAND USES . IT IS A MATERIAL THAT HOLDS MUCH PROMISE , WHICH SHOULD BE EXPLORED AND EXPLOITED .
FOR EXAMPLE , DO YOU KNOW THAT SOME SPECIES OF BAMBOO GROW AT THE RATE OF 4 FEET IN 24 HOURS ? A POLE OF BAMBOO CAN RE-GENERATE TO ITS FULL HEIGHT IN JUST 6 MONTHS AND BAMBOO CAN BE CONTINUOUSLY RE-HARVESTED EVERY 3 YEARS . AND DO YOU KNOW THAT BAMBOO , FROM AN ENGINEERING POINT-VIEW , HAS A HIGHER TENSILE STRENGTH THAN MANY METAL ALLOYS ?
FOR THIS REASON , I AM EXCITED THAT A BAMBOO EXPO IS A MAJOR PART OF THIS CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK , AS YOU CAN SEE FROM ALL THE EXHIBITS DISPLAYED AROUND US TO WHICH I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO A TOUR OF THE EXPO AFTER THIS .
AT THIS JUNCTURE , ALLOW ME TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMMENDABLE EFFORTS BY FRIM IN THE FIELD OF BAMBOO RESEARCH LED BY DIRECTOR GENERAL , YBHG DATO’ DR ABDUL LATIF MOHMOD , WHO IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE ‘BAMBOO MAN’ . I ALSO APPLAUD THE ORGANIZERS FOR THEIR FORESIGHT IN DECIDING ON BAMBOO AS THE THEME FOR THIS CREATIVITY & INNOVATION WEEK .
IN CLOSING, LET ME WISH THE ORGANIZERS EVERY SUCCESS IN ORGANIZING THIS EVENT . AS THE PROGRAMS UNFOLD OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS , I AM CONFIDENT THAT THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BENEFIT GREATLY , AS THEY LEARN MORE ABOUT CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION . LET ME ALSO EXTEND A WORD OF APPRECIATION TO YAYASAN INOVASI MALAYSIA FOR SUPPORTING THIS EVENT .
THANK YOU .
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