Just read an article about the tightening of regulations with regards to the accessibility of research funds. I think what Mrs Liew has been saying is actually rather true, that "ideas are increasingly being monetised". A*star, for example, lies under the jurisdiction of the Singapore Government, and its parent ministry is apparent the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Hence, it makes sense that the funds are sourced from taxpayers' money. When the people's hard-earned money gets involved in the picture, there will inevitably be some form of bureaucracy, which is essentially the crux of the present problem. In order to justify the large amounts of money that goes into research, the gatekeepers of the funds, namely MTI and MOF, chooses economic key performance indicators to determine which ideas have the potential to reap the greatest benefits and thus are most deserving of the funding.
Nice guys finish last.
But is it justified that the most lucrative researches are rewarded with the largest amounts of fundings? Many of the great scientific achievements (really unnecessary to state examples, pretty sure you the reader are very well aware of some) had little ramifications on the industrialised economy. Does that mean that in the future, more and more researchers are gearing their compasses towards research that can reap the most monetary rewards? Sure, the notion of surviving in the competitive industry still holds true, but what I'm afraid is that the true essence and spirit behind scientific research is being diluted. And that, in my opinion, is the greatest issue regarding government-backed scientific research. The leaders of the countries, as well as related ministries, view R&D solely as a vehicle that can improve the long-term productive capacity of our economy, as well as simply raking in the cash. What scientists view their work, I believe, is the potential to bring about greater knowledge of the world that we live in. As you can see, these two vantage points are not exactly aligned, and tensions will always exist, no matter what.
They really do, dammit.
After reading the article, I think I have concluded that Singapore will never be a place where scientific research can thrive. For anyone who is a least bit interested to become a researcher (including myself, LOL), please look out of this island.