DR BEN ASKED ME TO WRITE ABOUT THIS (PT 1)

When Dr Ben asked me to write my opinion on the issue of the 'importance of research', I also went through the page of Dr Fakir Fikir, one of Dr Ben's acquaintance who has also been asked to write about the same topic. What I have found in the writing's of Dr Fakir Fikir only echoed those I wrote in this blog. As Dr Ben has correctly summarized it, it's all about 'kegelisahan'. I couldn't agree more with both of them because I have written exactly this two years ago (posted 14th March 2009):

Such a privilege, far from being a luxury, traps me into a deep hole of anxiety. Knowing how your society is lagging (and lacking for that matter) is a very dreadful knowledge that plunges you into a state of depression and as if this is not bad enough, it is a one-way street, you know, if one ever wanted to get out. But to get the 23 millions of population to be on the same road, believe me, is a heck of job.

Preview

And I know many more young Malaysian university's teachers who are having the same 'kegelisahan'. This what I meant when I said:

..we are the new generation of Malaysian university's teachers ..our first and second degrees were obtained ... locally... So we were the ones born by Malaysian universities thus who really know the good and the bad of our higher educational system. (posted on 5th Oct 2011)

also

Those who are in the Malaysian academia, especially the young teachers like me would recognize that our higher educational system is going off-track...A general reader may not get it but I believe those in the Academia know exactly what I am talking about. (posted on 7th Oct 2011)

But where these 'kegelisahan' came from? As what I am going to reveal to you, it came from our research activities and such 'revelation' would also accomplish the assignment that is given to me by Dr Ben, that is to argue the 'importance of research'.

Actually, Dr Ben has asked me to focus on fundamental researches on the ground that he himself has explained the industrial related researches. But, to agree on such a topic would require me to define first fundamental researches as I see it but this would be quite a lengthy discussion by itself. Because I did find some contradictions in Malaysian definition of fundamental. So I think I will postpone such a discussion until later but to give you a hint, to mingle with differential equations, for example, is not necessarily fundamental but the general perception of Malaysian is that when it comes to mathematics, it is then too theoretical thus fundamental, which for me is wrong and the sole reason for our present lacking in research achievements. Another hint on this can also be traced in my previous writing below (posted on 5th Oct 2011):

Believing that anybody can innovate (or research) for me is immature, not wrong but immature. .This ‘trial and error’ ...without having any ‘reason’ behind it and ‘principles’ that guide it, only consumes so much..with low rate of success... we must first understand in great depth the basic and fundamental principles ...then we know what... to be adjusted?... to be modified?.. to be included? .. and among these which conserves and which optimizes the most?... not ensuring the conservation of laws usually what leads to physical failure of the innovation (or research) and fail to optimize what makes an innovative (or research) work a waste.

But like I said until later. And while I will still be discussing the topic of the importance of 'general' researches, I will provide a new dimension to it. Whilst Dr Ben and Dr Fakir Fikir have both got it right in the context of socio-economic sustainability and integrity of an ummah and/or nations (in fact echoed my posts on 25th May 2009 and 20th Sept. 2011) I will say that, ONE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCHES IS THAT IT CAN STRAIGHTEN YOU UP, you academician you!.

(to be continued...)