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By Liew Chin Tong. When resources are limited, new approaches to research are needed if the results are to be of the type that are not only useful but that also hold their own momentum. With global dynamics changing fast, new directions for research which promise higher efficacy are a pressing need. WHEN I TOOK over as executive director for the Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI) 10 months ago, my goal was to bring the Penang think tank to new heights in conventional areas such as education, economics and the environment. The library also had to be upgraded, etc.
However, in order for SERI to emerge as a principal research centre in Malaysia and in the region, we have to consider how research trends can be expected to develop over the next five years. The institute holds great potential to become a centre of excellence in those few selected areas, and this can be expected to occur in sync with Penang’s resurgence.
There is a need for everyone involved – SERI’s board members, management and staff , the Penang state government, the private sector, NGOs and SERI collaborators – to start a dialogue on the immediate future of the institute.
Increasingly, I am convinced that think tank work in Penang needs to take several related initiatives, i.e.:
i) a clearly defined direction with a corresponding structure;
ii) a branding exercise (based on what is said below);
iii) the involvement of experts with post-graduate qualifications; and
iv) personnel development of existing staff . There are several reasons for this. For one thing, a limited budget makes it necessary for us to maximize the efficacy of our scarce resources.
Specialisation in certain areas is inevitable if we are to attain excellence. But at the same time, we need to choose wisely, and identify topics that will in the medium and long term be of increasing relevance nationally and internationally. Keeping these core areas in mind, we can then develop a systemic approach.
This is very different from being an institution with a generalist perspective. A time of paradigmatic shifts
Present global shift s in power, the growing importance of regionalism in contrast to national perspectives and the high mobility of labour, capital, production and consumption all pose serious conceptual challenges in many academic fields, especially in political science, international relations, economics and environmental studies.
Penang is one of the oldest cosmopolitan cities in the region and has a history of being a leader in many modern fields. Its track record in education, industrialisation, sports, mass media development, urban planning, alternative political views, etc. is an illustrious one. This experience holds much that can inspire scholars in today’s shifting environment to develop new methods for studying human organisation, whether economic, political or cultural.
In my opinion, a strategic focus on emerging fields of study is the way for SERI to stay pertinent and make full use of scarce resources, direct institutional upgrading and develop strong ties with research institutions throughout Asia and beyond.
Such a repositioning exercise will encompass issues such as:
i) result-oriented resource and budget management;
ii) focused staffing as well as personnel development and management; and
iii) the forging of effective partnerships. Old categories hold the tendency of excessive compartmentalisation of problems. This makes them harder to comprehend, let alone solve. A holistic and coherent approach is needed to deal with issues such as housing affordability in the context of international speculation, public transportation in the face of ecological concerns and poverty in a time of affluence.
Debates about skill shortage, labour conditions, population growth, migrant labour, energy demand, etc. need to be cogently linked. There are three areas in which SERI has unique propositions which will not only fulfil practical funding requirements, but also build niche strengths that have a regional reach. In the near future, a Penang think tank needs to excel in the following areas: Penang studies
We are uniquely positioned to promote interdisciplinary and multifaceted studies of Penang for local and international audiences. Our key role in the preparation of the Penang Blueprint 2011-2015 points us in this direction, as do publications such as the Penang Economic Monthly, Pilot Studies for a New Penang (2010) and the upcoming Penang in Asia.
Without a doubt, Penang is of growing interest to the wider region for various reasons: it is a dynamic urban centre; it has a rich and varied history; it is the centre of attention for Malaysia’s governance evolution today; and it possesses a vibrant civil society that has encouraged the adoption of a wide range of innovative and participatory practices. All these aspects are of interest to Penangites as well as other communities juggling issues related to urban growth, multiculturalism, civic participation and the conservation of past and current cultural practices. Sub-national governance and economics
Central-local/federal-state relations and decentralization are important themes not only in Malaysia but internationally as well. Economic globalisation as well as evolving cultural norms regarding government and political participation mean that state, provincial and local governments are increasing in importance. Contrary to prevailing trends in the region and internationally, Malaysia is centralising more and more.
However, unlike Indonesia and the Philippines that had had to “sail the ship while building it”, Malaysia has a well-defined multilevel government structure in place. This is now of major importance to a country learning to cope with a diversifying political structure, and which is debating the restoration of local government elections.
A Penang think tank has the chance to study individual state governments and disseminate knowledge learned from that, as well as highlight productive experiences from elsewhere to inspire local efforts.
Malaysia’s current lopsided structure is untenable in the long run. Positioning SERI to look into governance and economics at the sub-national level will help Penang better understand the political structure it is operating in, as well as provide a live experiment
laboratory for regional audiences. The study of cities
Studying cities is an increasingly significant endeavour that brings together relevant fields such as environmental studies, urban governance, multicultural living, lifestyle, economic growth and architecture, among others. Sustained economic expansion, frighteningly high rates of population growth, as well as unhampered urbanisation entail the growth of bigger and more cities in emerging economies. This will be the case especially in Asia, where countries such as India and China are economic powerhouses and social powder kegs at the same time.
Urban living is reaching a point where comparisons between cities will become more prominent and more relevant than comparisons between countries once were. Penang, as one of the first cities in the region, has a special role to play in this new scenario.
The SERI Exco Board, at its meeting on July 30, 2010, agreed to commence a repositioning exercise for SERI based on the themes outlined above. Let us begin the conversation to contemplate the future of think tanks in the region in general, and of SERI in particular. ** Republished with permission.This article first appeared in the September issue of the Penang Economic Monthly, a publication of the Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI) in Penang. To contact SERI, call 604 228 3306. Neil Khor is a co-author of Non-Sectarian Politics in Malaysia: The Case of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (2008). Liew Chin Tong is the Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera and executive director of SERI.
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