KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — The Malaysia Open Science Platform (MOSP) was launched today to bridge the gap between research, innovation and commercialisation and enhance the country’s innovation capabilities.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof in his speech during the launch said through the MOSP Malaysia will be able to expedite research and accelerate solutions even with little research and development of human resources.

He said MOSP can also foster multidisciplinary and international collaboration and save resources by reducing duplication and re-funding of similar research projects.

"I am confident that open science will be an essential building block in the research and development of ecosystem that will pave a new future for the research landscape in Malaysia,” he said.

MOSP which can be accessed via mosp.gov.my is a raw research data-sharing platform initiated by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the pilot initiative has been managed by ASM since 2019.

Fadillah said MOSP seeks to position Malaysia as a leader in open science and innovation which can contribute positively to the country's overall development and competitiveness in the global economy.

He said currently through MOSP, 10 research fields are showcased on the platform which includes biological, chemical and mathematical sciences; physics engineering and material science and agricultural veterinary and food sciences.

Among other research fields are computer science, information technology and telecommunications; medical and health sciences; climate environment and biodiversity as well as energy.

Fadillah said it is natural that there are still some concerns about opening and sharing data with others as there is fear of one’s research being used by others.

To overcome that, forming the Guidelines of Open Science for Public Funded Research to ensure data sharing is done safely will be crucial for the comfort of all research communities, he said.

According to Fadillah, the guideline demonstrates research data management practices that promote the accessibility and findability of data, encouraging others to understand it and increasing its reusability.

"Concurrently, I believe these guidelines should also be adopted as a subset of the National Data Sharing Policy under the Ministry of Communications and Digital,” he added.

Meanwhile, when speaking to reporters after the launch, Fadillah said through the MOSP the research community, academics and industry players can share and collaborate to enhance the development of innovation and creativity.

"This can accelerate commercialisation as industrial players can see what is suitable for their need,” he said. — Bernama