By: Dr. Athar Osama

Muslim-Science.Com met with Tan Sri Dr. Omar Abdur Rahman, Mahathir’s Science Advisor for over a decade and half and, the “prime mover” behind Mahathir Mohammed’s vision of a Knowledge-driven Malaysia. A deeply humble man, Tan Sri Omar insists that Mahathir was a science policymaker par excellence in his own right and that he would hardly have needed a science advisor. However, he played a critical role in providing scientific credibility to Mahathir’s plans and helping the Prime Minister reach out to the scientific community to build support for his policies.

As Malaysia’s first and longest serving Science Advisor – a position that he ended up molding and that ended up molding him as well to the extent that – he ultimately personified what it really meant to be ‘Science Advisor’ of a Head of Government. Famously, when Tan Sri Omar joined the Prime Minister’s Office as Science Advisor, he had hardly an office and literally no staff of his own. When asked who would his staff be, it was pointed out that he could reach out to the entire scientific community as his staff. Omar built coalitions to make it happen.

Trained as veterinarian at Sydney University in Australia and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, Tan Sri Omar returned to Malaysia to work in the Ipoh Veterinary Research Institute as a Research Officer rising to the rank of Deputy Director. In 1982 he joined as the Dean of Veterinary Sciences at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and then its Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs before he was ‘called to service’ at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) as Mahathir’s Science Advisor in 1984. During his tenure he has been responsible for creating a plethora of Science and Innovation Institutions such as Malaysian Industry-Government High Technology Group (MIGHT), Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), Technology Park Malaysia (TPM), and Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), among others.

As Muslim-Science.Com sat down to speak with Tan Sri Omar, it was touched with the deep sense of humility of a man who has accomplished much for himself and his country but was uncomfortable talking about these. However, as the discussion warmed up, Tan Sri Omar gradually opened up and provided numerous insights into Mahathir’s leadership style, his own undeniable influence on the ultimate choices of his leader, his contribution to Malaysian science and innovation landscape, and his frank and honest opinion on science policy in Malaysia since he left. This interview is being produced below for the benefit of Muslim-Science.Com’s audience.

Read the full story »