AS this year’s Nobel Prize laureates take centre stage in the last few days thousands of kilometres away, it is not too far-fetched to harbour future aspirations for more Malaysians to be conferred with the prestigious awards.
Rather, winning a Nobel Prize is never an inconceivable possibility.
Malaysians have made the mark twice in Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize; the first was in 2013, when Lt Kol (Rtd) Mohd Nasarudin Yusof’s team won the award for their work to eliminate chemical weapons at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and later in 2017, when Datuk Dr Ronald McCoy’s organisation the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which he founded, was also conferred with the peace prize.
At the same time, a Nobel aspiration is not a silly pipe dream either.
Recognising global excellence in science, literature, economics in addition to the noble promotion of peace, the Nobel awards offer valuable prize money which can go into further development in the work of the winners. And this year, the prizes have been increased to almost US$1mil (RM4.7mil) each, the Nobel Foundation which administers the awards had announced in September.
For this goal, in the last decade, Malaysia has been spurring programmes to nurture potential laureates, particularly in the scientific field.
There was a “Nobel Mindset” pilot programme that catered for gifted young minds under the PERMATApintar project, as well as annual participation of young researchers among others, in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Programme in which they meet and interact with prominent scientists and Nobel Laureates.
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So what is next in Malaysia’s endeavour to win another Nobel Prize?
While several scientific areas can see the potential of a laureate, several issues concerning the right ecosystem to do so, talent nurturing and funding will need to be addressed. In the same vein, similar issues are besetting any ambition to win the Nobel Prize in literature, despite the achievements of highly-acclaimed Malaysian writers.
Nevertheless, the dream is never too far away from reach, or impossible to realise.
The works
There are several activities to encourage young researchers, including students, to be more active in cutting-edge research in fundamental areas of physics, chemistry and physiology medicine, says Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) secretary-general Prof Dr Noorsaadah Abd Rahman.
She points out that the Lindau Nobel Laureate meetings serve as the best platform for young scientists, who are pioneers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to build a network with their top international counterparts.
These meetings are crucial in opening new doors for Malaysian scientists.
“The selected local young scientists will meet Nobel Prize recipients from various disciplines as Malaysian representatives. Our young scientists can also introduce their research in this meeting, which may open new opportunities to work with scientists in world-class laboratories.
“It is worth mentioning that most of the world-renowned scientists attended Lindau Laureate Meeting in the early stage of their career, including ASM’s Fellows.”
As for ASM, Dr Noorsaadah says several initiatives are being carried out including the organisation of the Top Research Scientist Malaysia awards since 2012, which is to recognise efforts carried out by the country’s brilliant minds, from senior professors to early-career scientists.
“(Meanwhile), the Chrysalis Award is a flagship leadership programme designed to transform PhD candidates into ‘mature’ (competent) scientists by providing nurturing training throughout the programme.
“The programme is targeted towards young scientists. Every year, fifteen PhD students from public and local private universities are selected to participate in this valuable experience, where various training workshops prepare the candidates to be future leaders in the nation’s science, technology, innovation and economy ecosystem.”
Potential and challenges
However, as of now, Prof Dr Norsaadah says currently the field with the most potential to see the birth of a Nobel laureate is economic sciences.
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While she did not elaborate on her take, the ASM fellow says if Malaysia wants to see a possible laureate in scientific areas, the scientists would have to work in the fundamental areas of physics, chemistry, or physiology and medicine.
“In the current situation, this would be a major challenge since not only do we not have enough sustainable funding for fundamental research, but also the number of talents in this area has dramatically declined, as the number of students and graduates in STEM subjects has decreased in Malaysia.”
She details the three main issues in the governance of research activities in Malaysia.
“When it comes to funding, to obtain a good outcome and impact from fundamental research (in which the Nobel Prize is awarded) requires continuous efforts and long-term sustainable funding and investment.
“Currently, in Malaysia, this is a major challenge since funding is limited and not continuous, resulting in researchers having to scramble for funds in whatever area is granted for them to continue their research. In addition, funding is allocated to limited use, which restricts research activities.”
Even the current ecosystem needs to be conducive for researchers to conduct fundamental research and carry out their work continuously.
“The ecosystem requires not only infrastructure and information but also collegiality among researchers working in the same environment.
“This is lacking in Malaysia. Additionally, early career researchers find it very difficult to work in their areas of STEM specialities in Malaysia due to other heavy commitments (teaching and administrative work at various institutions) and a lack of support.”
She also highlights the importance of nurturing talents from a young age.
“There are several programmes that need to be supported, such as the Olympiad Programme for various disciplines, including the International Chemistry Olympiad, the International Physics Olympiad and the International Mathematics Olympiad.
“These programmes aim to identify talent in these science areas at a very young age and enable them to compete with peers from many countries globally in these areas.”
ALSO READ: Controversial laureates around the world
A big word for books
What about potential literature laureates? Despite the number of established writers, including the award-winning Tash Aw, the road is not as finely paved.
Pusaka founder Eddin Khoo points out a question that needs to be resolved revolving around the Malaysian intricate literary culture: what defines a Malaysian Nobel literature laureate?
“Is a Malaysian (Nobel literature) laureate a Malaysian who authors in Malay, or just a Malaysian? Malaysian authors write in many languages, be it in Malay, Chinese or Tamil.”
He says, for example, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh’s recent Oscar win also sparks a question in a similar vein, as she had acted mostly in Chinese films throughout her career.
“So how do you define Malaysian writing? Ideally, it should be the Malay language given its official status. But literature is also about freedom.
“We need to be more broadminded (due to the variety of languages and cultures) when it comes to it (defining a Malaysian Nobel laureate prospect).
Did Malaysia make an effort to produce such laureates, to begin with?
Khoo says the country did have a plan to meet the goal but he describes it as a nonsensical endeavour as a laureate “cannot be produced”.
“Most importantly we must produce good literature. It must also be experimental, edgy and original as per the citations of the Nobel Prize requirements.”
Nevertheless, Khoo says Malaysians do have the potential to win a Nobel Prize in literature.
“We have many prospects given the various highly acclaimed Malaysian authors. We have a lot of literature written by Malaysians.
“Comparatively, even St Lucia (a country in the Caribbean) has two Nobel laureates despite having a population of about 180,000. Surely, we (Malaysia) can do it too.”
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