No, not some Pontianak infested valley, but Malaysia’s “Biovalley” which is supposed to be a new “hub” for Biotechnology.
There has been a recent critical article in the prestigious journal, Nature, entitled Malaysian biotechnology: The valley of ghosts

The BioValley is just the most conspicuous feature in a landscape of failed effort. Elsewhere, flashy new labs remain largely unused, some of them led by people without proper scientific credentials. And in a culture in which criticism of authority is taboo, these problems don’t look remotely near resolution. One senior political figure (who, like most of the people interviewed for this article, did not want his name mentioned) complains that the BioValley “was all about fancy buildings and real-estate development”.

The article also mentions the crux of the problem: lack of qualified talent/brainpower/manpower. It suggests also that Malaysia’s ethnic policy plays a part and blames the brain drain on this. As this is a sensitive issue, I am not reproducing those sections here but it is quite scathing.

Empty labs
Even when new labs have been built, they’ve failed to make much impact. The Technology Park Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur, for instance, hosts a government-sponsored institute that was supposed to act as a magnet for biotech companies. When Nature visited the two-yearold facility in late June, its high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry instruments lay idle — and only two research staff were present, huddled by a computer.
Malaysia has unemployed graduates, but many don’t have the requisite skills, including English ability, says an administrator at the park. “Good people go overseas,” he adds.

Other problems?

For most Malaysian researchers, publications in international peerreviewed journals do not seem to be a priority.
“People here don’t seem to publish much, apart from in workshop and conference proceedings,”
says one visiting ecologist. The country has also attracted few foreign researchers. Pay is low and there are few postdoctoral students to work with unless you bring your own. “There is nobody here who really understands what I am doing apart from my students,” says a foreign researcher who is in Malaysia for family reasons. “People in my department are perpetually putting obstacles in my way.”

Obstacles? Sound familiar?
There needs to be a massive reform to the system, but to quote Nature again:

But without standardized state university entrance exams, some critics remain sceptical about the likelihood of real progress. Unless Malaysia is able to shed its legacy of ethnic favouritism, they are dubious about the nation’s chances of competing with its neighbours in biotechnology.

If anyone wants the PDF of the article I shall be happy to forward it to you. Send me feedback or post a comment here requesting it.

Ref:
Malaysian biotechnology: The valley of ghosts
SUMMARY: While other Asian tigers are roaring ahead in biotechnology, Malaysia’s BioValley is going nowhere fast. David Cyranoski asks what went wrong.
News@Nature 436, 620-621 (04 Aug 2005)

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