Forest research in Malaysia: an overseas experience

As I was browsing through my old posts to check for any comments when I was abroad, I found a statement that said "forest biotechnology is less developed in Malaysia". Sadly I have to agree. During my travels, I met some international experts in forest research. Most of the things they said surprised me. Good or bad.

Malaysia is rich. We have a lot of money to do research and conservation. Obviously we don't think so. Indonesia has less funding to do research but Indonesians are keen to protect their forests. We should learn from our neighbour.

Grant application for forestry research can be a bit complicated because it's neither categorised under agriculture nor science & technology. Forestry is not listed under MOSTI grants. Recently, it's included in MOA fund.

Lack of funding for forest research happens not only in Malaysia. I recently met a senior researcher from Singapore. Little did I know he studied the same species a few years ago. They had the same problem.

When I was attached in China, I noticed that students there are more eager to seek knowledge. Not just "get things done" attitude". They took initiatives to organize plant identification class every week. They paid visits to the nearby forest reserves accompanied by a teacher/researcher who will explain the plant name etc.

A visiting professor from UK once said to the class that we all have a brain, everybody has the same brain, we can be smarter than other people. Don't underestimate yourself.

Forest is our future. So start planting our future!