Is space exploration, merely an event or is it an issue? How does one differentiate between an issue and an event? For example, the accident which had to the death of Princess Diana (1997) was an event; but what was the issue surrounding that accident or event? Malaysia’s space exploration which we are proud of…
The water issue is gaining an increasingly central place in the world’s consciousness. About 2 billion people around the world either lack access to sufficient quantities of water, or are supplied with water unfit for drinking. Water is the basis for all life, without it, life cannot exist. Today, in the modern world the water…
What is blue ocean strategy? It is a corporate strategy to develop uncontested market space which make competition irrelevant. According to Prof. W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne; “competing in an overcrowded industry is no way to sustain high performance. The real opportunity is to create a blue ocean of uncontested market space” (Havard Business…
The development of halal products and services is now becoming a promising and profitable business. Certification bodies authorised to endorse halal products and services should be capable of looking into what compliance issues conforms to the status. The issue of non-compliance prior to, during and post certification is still monitored throughout. This has the potential…
As biotechnology develops at a rapid pace, genetic engineering has been proposed as a means of improving the various aspects of life. This includes the agriculture biotechnology especially in crop production. Rice is one of the examples and currently, the developing countries have been urged to facilitate the adoption of genetically engineered (GE) rice. Why?…
The concept of using vegetable as fuel dates back to 1985 when Dr Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. He demonstrated his engine at the world exhibition in Paris in 1900 and described an experiment using peanut oil as fuel in his engine. However, transesterification of vegetable oil was…
Nowadays, the development of science and technology is very important not only to strengthen socio-economic development but also in terms of technology advancement for military application. The Iranian government for example, has developed nuclear power plants to generate 6,000 MW of electricity by 2010 but at the same time this technology can be used as…
The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has taken its first steps in recuperating unpaid education loans amounting to almost RM867 millions. On Feb 1, 1,000 defaulters from the pioneer batch of loan recipients in 1997 will be placed on the Credit Tip Off Services Sdn Bhd (CTOS) and Bris Information Services Sdn Bhd (BRIS)…
Ah Long is a term for illegal loan sharks in Malaysia and Singapore. They lend money to people who are unable to obtain loans from banks or other legal sources. In Japan, these illegal loan sharks are called “TO-SAN” (TO=ten SAN=three) or “TO-GO” (TO=ten GO=five)), because the interest rates they charge are between 30 percent over…
For the Eighth Malaysia Plan, efforts with regard to science and technology (S&T) were focused on strengthening science capability and capacity to support productivity and improve competitiveness. In this regard, considering the increasingly challenging and competitive global environment, the Ninth Plan was designed to harness science, technology and innovation (STI) as a key driver in raising national capacity…
