Malaysia's Chemistry Department is World Standard - Minister

ALOR SETAR (Kedah,Malaysia), July 2 (Bernama) -- The expertise and high-tech procedures applied by Malaysia's chemistry department is on par with international standards, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Dr Maximus Ongkili said. "Our chemistry department does not use second class equipment...the ministry will constantly ensure that," he told reporters in conjunction with the fifth anniversary celebrations of the department's Kedah branch here Sunday. He said the department's analysis techniques have also progressed from conventional analysis to instrumentation analysis which can provide speedier, accurate and quality results. Earlier in his speech, he said the department needs to enhance its analysis competitiveness given the presence of private laboratories which are also providing similar services. He said the department also plays an important role as a reference centre for scientific findings. In this regard it serves as an Asean reference laboratory for analysis of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and halal products, and a DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) forensic reference centre. "There is no end to efficiency, there is always room for improvement. Innovations do not necessarily require more power and additional funds; laboratory operating procedures need to be regularly upgraded," he said, adding that the department needed to find and initiate an approach that would shorten the analysis period. -- BERNAMA