The recent announcement of the 2006 Budget has set the agricultural industry abuzz as a total allocation amounting to RM 2.8 billion was set by the Prime Minister during his budget speech earlier. This strong governmental backing actually did not come as a huge surprise as the government has been pursuing strong developments in the industry, including the RM 300 million allocation for agriculturalventures under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. Such a strong push is consequential of the government’s efforts in turning the country into a food exporter by 2010.

 

Since the 1980s, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board with Petronas begun developing technology to transform crude oil into a viable diesel substitute, and has been successfully used in a 3000 tonnes-per-year plant in the MPOB headquarters. The push for biodiesel is anticipated to increase the economical prospects of vegetable oils, expecially palm oil in Malaysia.

The recent outbreak of dengue cases outbreak of dengue cases has reached the dreaded 1,000 cases per week mark as health officials brace themselves for the declaration of an epidemic as accorded by the Health Minister on September 27. However, the numbers are still expected to increase as people begin to become more aware of the outbreak and its symptoms. In fact, it has been speculated that there will be to be reported more cases until the end of the year as it normally take two to three months for an epidemic to stabilize.

The Government has thrown its weight behind developing the nation’s biotechnology and agriculture industry in 2006 as special funds are being allocated for both fields by the government next year. In his Budget 2006 speech at the Dewan Rakyat, the Prime Minister announced the allocation of RM 100 million to a special biotechnology fund to give a boost to the fledgling sector and another RM 2.8 billion for agriculture. Speculators and industry players profess their excitement behind this move, envisioning a more dynamic industry with better development of infrastructure. The fund is to be managed by the Malaysian Technology Development Corp.

 

One company which is foreseen to ride upon this strong push would be Carotech Bhd., a homegrown biotech company with plans to invest RM 100 million in the research and development of commercially viable biodiesel products. With the surging oil prices, this decision is timely, as consumers begin to search for alternative sources of energy to replace crude oil.

The Prime Minister expressed his confidence that Malaysia would become a strong player in biotechnology should it move quickly in establishing the necessary steps during a conference in San Francisco. Despite challenges from countries developing their own niches like China and India, he believed that Malaysia would be able to overcome these challenges by improving its capital base and regulatory capacity.