The previous quote underlines the difficulty
of trying to look beyond the present. If the allpowerful
Jedi Master with fictional powers like
Yoda from the Star Wars Hexalogy would not be
able to see what the future lays ahead, where does
this leave mere mortal like us. So called experts
and futurist have all tried to predict something
about the future with mixed results. Nowadays,
the use of foresight tools and methodology has
provided some means towards looking ahead with
confidence.
However through my interactions I am still greeted
by the question, why foresight?
Everybody knows that every decision that we make
today, either as individuals or as organisations
will have an impact on the future. Therefore it
makes sense to explore the potential impact of
such decisions before they are made, and to make
the best decisions that we can today. There are,
however no future facts, and in a world obsessed
by data driven decision making, the challenge
for advocates of foresight is to demonstrate how
exploring the future today will add value to the
planning processes.
What foresight attempts to do is to create a better
understanding of the drivers of change and the
megatrends as well as its impact that will enable
us to have a new understanding about the future.
The future will be nothing like the past. If you were
to go back only five or ten years and think about
whether you could have imagined the details of the
future that is now, what would you have thought
was possible?
However, given the complexity of the external
environment, the thinking that goes into strategy
development needs to be divergent and expansive.
Foresight approach facilitates, in fact encourages
this line of thinking, and then bringing this back to
the present and now, to the strategic decisions that
need to be made today. The aim is to strengthen
those strategic decisions - to make them wiser and
more robust, and able to withstand the change and
uncertainties that the future will bring.
The articles that were, is and will be published in myForesightTM reflects this
line of thoughts; exploring the possibilities and how the future oriented
thinking are embedded into the formulation of strategy and recommendations to be
taken now. |
 | Beata Poteralska’s piece on how Poland uses
foresight methodology and approach in defining
their defining national research priority areas is
a prime example of future oriented analysis and
recommendations. You could read all about it on
page 06.
On the home front the Malaysian ship building
ship repairs industry is also undertaking a
revolution of sorts; developing a roadmap to ensure
future sustainability, whereas Datuk Dr. Salmiah’s
piece provide us with insights of what it takes to
spearhead the rubber industry into the future.
With the growing concern of energy security, the
focus on public transport especially in Malaysia
has grown considerably; Dr Aziz’s take on the
future of KL public transport infrastructure and
the possibility of PRT being introduced provides
interesting food for thought.
Dr. Rajah Rasiah talks
about the Malaysian IC
industry and how it’s
playing technological
catch up to the rest of
the world, raising the
questions of policy
implications and what’s
the best strategy to
move forward. You
could read all about
this edition’s trends and
issues.
Previously we’ve talked
about the technology
strategy of the nation. This includes either to
develop the technology on our own, do it in
partnership collaboratively or outright acquiring
the technology required. In this edition we’re
providing a viewpoint on technology acquisition
and how to maximize its benefits through a
national offset program.
We are glad to say that we have garnered positive
reviews so far on the magazine and hope to
continually do so in making the magazine
beneficial and thought provoking.
After reading the magazine, we expect you to have
your opinion on certain matters. You might agree or
disagree. Whichever it goes, we want to hear them.
We welcome your feedback and contributions.
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