Acknowledging ASM's role as advisor is the ultimate trust recognition

KUALA LUMPUR: The acknowledgement towards the Academy of Sciences Malaysia President as the country's Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Advisor to the Cabinet is the ultimate recognition as a trusted advisory body.

President of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia Professor Emerita Datuk Dr Asma Ismail said not many academies around the world were given this privilege.

"Most academies will only give thoughts and ideas and they do not have any link to the Cabinet.

However, with this recognition, the ASM President will have direct access to provide advice," said Dr Asma during an interview in Agenda Awani.

She added that it was never easy to devise science-based policies as other matters usually take precedence.

"Policy-makers need solutions and not more problems. At ASM we find that giving data alone and science-based solutions are not enough.

"Science needs a human face. In order to get buy-in, we also need to build in values into the solutions that we offer," said Dr Asma.

She also stressed on the importance of building trust towards what ASM can offer.

"Trust is not built overnight. I am happy to note that 80% of our suggestions and recommendations have become national roadmaps and policies.

"When I present this to other academies around the world, they want to know how we achieved that," she added.