ASM Sci. J., Vol. 3, No. 2, 2009

Abstract

First I would like to thank the Editorial Board of the ASM Sc. J. for inviting me to be their Guest Editor for this special issue of theJournal devoted to polar sciences. As the Director of the Malaysian Antarctic Research Programme (MARP) it is a pleasure to see howthe Programme has grown. When the idea of establishing the Programme was undertaken by the Task Force on Antarctic Research underthe Academy in 1998, one of the main worries of the members was the sustainability of the Programme. This sustainability is supportedon two pillars: one is the continued funding of research by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI); and the otheris the support of the researchers participating in the programme from all the universities and research institutions in Malaysia. MARP’ssuccess is very much dependent on these two pillars and to date I have to commend MOSTI and the researchers for the support that theyhave given.In trying to develop polar research, one of the major constraints that Malaysian scientists face is the lack of local logistics support.Malaysia has no base to embark on its own scientific programme in Antarctic or the Arctic. As such, we are very much dependent on thegoodwill of our international partners. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our international partners, namely Antarctica NewZealand, Australian Antarctic Division, British Antarctic Survey, Japanese National Institute of Polar Research, Korean Polar ResearchInstitute, Instituto Antartico Argetino, Instituto Antarctico Chile, Instituto Antarctico Equador, South Africa National Antarctic Programand National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research of India. We are also thankful to the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Researchand Asian Forum on Polar Sciences for all the support and co-operation given to enable our scientists to embark on polar research.It is with pride that I note that our scientists and their post-graduate students have embraced our polar research initiatives withso much enthusiasm. Some spent more than two months away from their loved ones in order to undertake field work in the extremeenvironment of Antarctic. They had to assimilate different cultures and food, and for some post-graduate students the field trip was theirfirst trip overseas. However, most of them would love to be given a second and maybe a third chance to go back to Antarctic for theirfield work. MARP is lucky to have such an enthusiastic group of scientists and young researchers.However, in pursuing their love of science some have paid a higher price than others. I would like to record our condolences to thefamily of the late Omar Pozan who died while undergoing training (diving) in Tasmania for a scientific expedition.As in any scientific venture, the proof of success is in the scientific output i.e. publications and post-graduate training. In this area,MARP has been able to produce three refereed conference proceedings and a number of papers in refereed international journals suchas Polar Biology and Journal of Geophysical Research. We have trained three PhD students and there are now more than fifty postgraduates pursuing research under MARP. A testimony to this active research is that the Academy of Sciences Malaysia has kindlyundertaken to produce this special issue of their Journal devoted to polar research undertaken under the MARP and our internationalcollaborators. This issue is a demonstration of how far polar sciences in Malaysia has advanced and can be used as a milestone of ourprogress. It is my hope that R&D in Malaysian polar sciences will be further expanded and deepened so that Malaysia will be consideredas a leader in certain niche areas such as microbiology, biodiversity and tropical-polar interactions in the ocean and atmosphere. Alreadysome of our researchers are active in helping polar research developments in the field of microbiology for some of our Latin Americanpartners. We are now an active member of SCAR committee on capacity building, education and training, and helping the developingcountries in the SCAR community. I am sure this issue will not only be of interest to the Malaysian but also the international communityof polar scientists. Finally, I would like to thank again the Academy of Sciences for undertaking this special issue on Malaysian polarsciences in their prestigious Journal; acknowledge the 22 reviewers for their evaluation of the 13 articles, and Kanesan Solomalai forediting and finalizing the editorial processing of this issue.