Address at Media Launch of Petrosains Science Festival 2016

Tuesday, 6 September 2016

Petrosains, KLCC

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalammualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Salam Sejahtera,

dan Salam 1 Malaysia

If I were to ask who invented the world’s first flying machine, I bet many would have correctly answered: the Wright brothers, in 1903. One hundred and 13 years ago. But history also recorded that as early as 1485, some 400 years earlier, Leonardo Da Vinci drew detailed plan for a human-powered ornithopter; and in his Codex of the Flight of Birds (1505-06) also other “crazy yet futuristic” ideas at that time such as the parachute and gliders. This had certainly planted ideas of how man would eventually fly. Da Vinci demonstrated something that we need to continuously do: the inquisitive mind, thinking far ahead of our time. Metaphorically for us, it is by bringing the 27th Century forward to today. A truly science and scientific breakthrough! Leonardo Da Vinci, the painter of Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, drew his inspirations purely from nature around him. Like studying the flight of birds!

Yang Berbahagia Dato’ Sharifah Sofianny Syed Hussain, Board Member of PETRONAS,

Yang Mulia Tengku Nasariah Tengku Syed Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer, Petrosains,

Yang Berusaha Puan Lita Osman, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Group Strategic Communications Division, PETRONAS,

Partners of the Petrosains Science Festival 2016,

Members of the Media,

Colleagues from the PETRONAS Family,

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

2. I would like to thank Yang Mulia Tengku Nasariah Tengku Syed Ibrahim and her team for inviting me to this media launch of Petrosains Science Festival 2016. I am very happy to be here today, to be associated with this very exciting Festival, especially one involving our Future. An activity that actively engages our younger generation. It is truly exciting to note that a Festival that is unique to the domain of science and on this scale, has been created through a platform that is so relevant to them. Our ongoing challenge is to excite ourselves and to excite others, to innovate and produce goods and services of the future, today. The likes of UTC, the Urban Transformation Centres.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

3. The ratio of students taking up science and its related fields in Malaysia is quite low. I am advised that the ratio of science to arts students is 20 to 80 percent which is quite a gap away to meet Malaysia’s need to produce 500,000 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics or STEM graduates by the year 2020.

4. While the Malaysian Government has invested heavily in the science and technology infrastructures, as well as on research and development facilities to bring us on par with those of developed nations, the Malaysian public is still lagging behind citizens of developed nations in terms of knowledge, understanding, attitude and interest towards science and technology. Given the highly competitive global economy, with a growing digitalisation of various industries, it will be a challenge for Malaysia to become a truly developed Nation without the required number of people being involved in science and technological endeavours.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

5. As a responsible corporate citizen and as the National Oil Company, PETRONAS have not forgotten our roots. We will continue to be very supportive and involved in the Government’s efforts to promote science and technology to the public at large and to school children specifically. And, in other important areas of our Amanah. Beyond just Target. It is a Commitment. It is fundamentally our Amanah to carry out our business in a socially responsible and holistic manner for the benefit of the people. We have consistently and successfully implemented various long term sustainable initiatives guided by our Corporate Sustainability Framework. Indeed “contributing to the wellbeing of society” is one of our Missions.

6. At the core of our Corporate Social Investment Focus Areas is Education and Capability Building – an effort to address the need for a sustainable pool of future scientists and technologists. Not only for PETRONAS, but importantly for the Nation. In order for us to continue making breakthroughs in technology, engineering and innovation in the industry. Among our efforts in Education are:-
• providing educational sponsorship for underprivileged students, and scholarship for exceptional students
• special research projects such as the research collaboration with Imperial College London to boost oil and gas industry research
• involvement in the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC); and
• establishment of various educational platforms which include:-
– Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP)
– Institut Teknologi Petroleum PETRONAS (INSTEP) which recently won the Global Getenergy Award for Education and Training Provider of the Year
– Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM); and
– Petrosains, The Science Discovery Centre in Suria KLCC

7. Petrosains was established in 1999 by PETRONAS as a permanent contribution to the education of the young, and was intended to be the seedbed to harvest future scientists and technologists for the industry and for the Nation. Informal learning institutions such as Petrosains and its corollaries, the Petrosains Playsmarts and related activities mentioned by Tengku Nasariah earlier, are important components to the broader learning ecosystem since nurturing the interest in science can be developed both within and outside the classroom environment. Tengku Nasariah spoke about all those being “fun”. I can attest to that. 20 days ago my daughter Suzi and son in law Todd, brought their 4 boys, aged 2 ½ to under 10, to visit Petrosains. Suzi messaged me at 4.36 pm; “Wow, kids still here. Have a hard time getting them to go home everytime – even the very youngest”. So Tengku and Petrosains, congratulations.

8. Many researches have indicated that science centres such as ours, have successfully helped to popularise science in a structured, planned and proven way; increased science literacy among students and their influencers, and most importantly, helped sustain the interest which will eventually lead to students taking up career paths in science and related fields.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

9. The Petrosains Science Festival is an example of a structured activity to help popularise science. It is very heartening that the previous Festivals held in 2013 and 2014 were very successful and managed to reach out to thousands of Malaysians. I am confident that this year’s Festival with the theme of “Discover, Create and Innovate”, and with the creative, innovative showcases being presented here in Petrosains; and with the beautiful 50 acres of KLCC Park as the backdrop for the last three days of the Festival, this Science Festival will achieve even better and a bigger success. It is PETRONAS fondest hope that this festival be like the Menlo Park of Thomas Edison where imaginations go wild and ideas flourished. And we certainly need more Menlo Parks throughout our country to continuously build up the interest of our future generations, so that we can have the future Leornado Da Vincis, Thomas Edisons or Steve Jobs of the world, mushrooming from this Nation.

10. I thank Petrosains for this effort and other initiatives over the years to support the Nation’s aspirations to engage the Malaysian public to be interested in science and produce more scientifically literate citizens and critical thinkers who will help shape our beloved Nation. I also applaud the partners of this Festival, the Industry players, Academia and Government agencies for sharing the same vision as Petrosains and coming together to participate in this Science Festival. With this kind of teamwork and collaborative efforts cutting across different sectors, and all for the greater Common Good, we can indeed be confident that our National aspiration, can be realised in time.

11. Let me conclude by once again thanking Yang Mulia Tengku Nasariah and her team at Petrosains and all True Blue collaborators of The Petrosains Science Festival 2016. To all the media partners and all those present here today – thank you very much for your continuous support.

12. With ‘Bismillahirahmanirahim’, it gives me great pleasure to officially launch the Petrosains Science Festival 2016.

13. Thank you all. Wabillahi Taufik Walhidayah, Wassamualaikum Warahmatullahhi Wabarakatuh.