PM Lee Hsien Loong at Launch of A*STAR’s 20th Anniversary Commemorative Publication

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman A*STAR
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

In 1989, I was on an investment promotion trip in Tokyo as Minister for Trade and Industry. Mr Philip Yeo (then-Chairman, EDB) and Mr Lam Chuan Leong (then-PS, MTI) came to see me in my hotel room. Philip wanted to establish an organisation to strengthen our S&T capabilities and drive R&D. He was convinced that R&D would be critical to our nation’s growth. I agreed.

Two years later, we set up the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB), and unveiled the Government’s first National Technology Plan 3. NSTB later evolved to become A*STAR in 2002.

SINGAPORE’S R&D JOURNEY

The decision was based on the strategic importance of R&D to Singapore.

R&D not an end in itself, but a means to transform Singapore into a vibrant and innovative knowledge economy; overcome Singapore’s limitations of size by out-thinking, out-smarting competitors; create good-quality and high-paying jobs for Singaporeans; and improve our lives.

We adopted multi-prong strategy: (1) Increased our investments — raised national R&D spending from $760 million (0.97% of GDP) in 1991 to $6 billion (2.28% of GDP) in 2009 and launched four more S&T Plans, each identifying niche areas to develop our S&T capabilities for maximum economic returns; (2) Attracted and developed talent — Singaporeans who became founding directors of our research institutes, e.g. Prof Low Teck Seng who founded the Magnetics Technology Centre in 1992 (later renamed the Data Storage Institute in 1996), foreign talent to jumpstart our capabilities, e.g. Sydney Brenner who proposed the establishment of the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), nurtured next generation of Singapore’s scientific leaders through scholarships and mentorship programmes, and built up research institutes to produce good research, train talent and provide good career paths, e.g., IMCB, Institute of Systems Science etc. (3) Created an ecosystem to harness potential of R&D, e.g. sound regulatory/ethical framework, e.g. IP protection, clinical trials, and close partnerships with universities and industry to commercialise innovations.

BENEFITS TO SINGAPORE

Our investments have paid off. R&D boosted our competitiveness amidst rising competition and fundamental restructuring of entire industries, e.g. in the disk drive industry — in 1990s, Singapore accounted for half of world’s output of desktop drives. Over time, low-value assembly activities shifted to lower cost countries. Singapore established Magnetics Technology Centre (under Prof Low) to undertake R&D. This enabled us to upgrade to higher VA activities such as hard disk drive design and hard disk media. Today, more than 40% of hard disk drive media in world is manufactured in Singapore.

R&D diversified our economy, and made it more resilient to external shocks amidst more volatile global economy, e.g. we added biomedical sciences as the fourth pillar of our manufacturing industry (alongside electronics, chemicals and engineering). This includes a whole new biologics industry, one of the fastest growing segments in drug industry — with high margins and highly skilled jobs.

R&D created good quality jobs. The number of research, scientists and engineers (RSEs) increased six-fold from 4,300 to more than 26,000 between 1990 and 2009. This contributed to many other types of employment prospects for Singaporeans by growing economy, creating new industries, and strengthening the whole research, innovation and enterprise value chain. Higher-skilled jobs aligned with Singaporeans’ rising education profile; gave talented Singaporeans more career options and incentive to upgrade themselves.

R&D improved Singaporeans’ lives. This translated into innovations that benefit all Singaporeans, e.g. corneal transplants. Researchers from Singapore National Eye Centre and NUS invented corneal transplant device for Asian eyes. This has reduced the failure rate by tenfold compared to existing process which is tailored for Western eyes.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

R&D remains important to creating growth and enhancing lives. More than before, knowledge is a key competitive advantage especially as Singapore economy matures. The competition is more intense, e.g. China and India are moving beyond low-cost manufacturers and increasingly host many Asia-Pacific/Global HQs of MNCs like Microsoft and GE Healthcare. There are many opportunities with rapid advances in scientific knowledge and technology, e.g. personalised medicine, green technology.

We must continue to pursue R&D to ensure Singapore stays ahead of the competition.

We must continue investing in R&D. We target to increase national R&D expenditure to 3.5% of GDP by 2015 – comparable to other research-intensive countries. The issue is less quantity than quality: we need promising projects to invest money in.

We should harness private sector capital. The private sector currently accounts for about 60% of national R&D spending; the industry can still do more. The Government has several schemes to encourage businesses to invest in R&D – continue to find innovative ways to share risk, especially amidst more uncertain economic outlook.

We must attract our share of R&D talent. Talent is still the key success factor. We must invest in teaching of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects, e.g. NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore Institute of Technology. We must create a vibrant research environment to inspire spirit of inquiry and innovation, e.g. with A*STAR, universities, industry, Campus(es) for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), etc.

Above all, this is only sustainable if R&D benefits economy and Singaporeans. Good science remains fundamental, but ultimately needs to be translated to practical innovations that improve lives. The best way is through closer partnerships with industry – to combine the strengths of universities and research institutes in basic research and the commercial instincts of private sector, e.g. Proctor & Gamble (P&G) collaborating with A*STAR to develop technologies for P&G’s consumer products around the world. This validates the commercial viability of A*STAR’s strengths in biotechnology, molecular biology, chemistry, high performance computing and materials; strengthens P&G’s R&D presence in Singapore; and leads to new jobs. We should encourage such collaborations.

CONCLUSION

Singapore has made good progress over past 20 years.

I thank A*STAR for capturing our S&T journey in their 20th anniversary commemorative publication. A*STAR has played key role in our R&D journey. It had built up world-class research entities in biomedical sciences, physical sciences and engineering, upgraded industries and attracted good companies to Singapore, nurtured local scientific talent to lead laboratories and mentor succeeding generations, and forged successful partnerships with industry, universities and international institutions.

These are exciting times ahead. Let us work together to develop Singapore further as global R&D hub.

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