BiotechCorp Announces Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid As the New Non-Executive Chairman

Kuala Lumpur, Thursday 16 August 2012 – Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp) is pleased to announce the appointment of YBhg Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid as the Chairman of BiotechCorp effective 15 August 2012 for a period of two years.

YBhg Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid, 64, who is currently the Science Adviser to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, brings to BiotechCorp his wide experience in science, technology and innovation following his successful career in science as a researcher, educator, administrator and diplomat for more than 30 years.

YBhg Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid holds a diploma from the College of Agriculture, Malaya in Serdang, a Bachelor’s degree in crop science from Louisiana State University, USA and Masters and Doctorate degrees in the field of crop science (plant breeding) from the Michigan State University. He began his career as a lecturer at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1970 and continues to rise through the ranks to become the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of one of Malaysia’s largest public universities.

On the international front, he has served in various capacities including as the SecretaryGeneral of the Society for the Advancement of Breeding Researches in Asia and Oceania, as one of the senior Malaysian delegates during negotiation of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity and later served as a member and at times headed the country’s delegation to treaty’s Conferences of Parties. He also led Malaysia’s delegation in the early days of intergovernmental negotiations of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

In 2000, he was appointed as a Director of the United Nations University’s Yokohama-based Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), one of the UN’s largest research and training centers. During an eight-year tenure, he transformed UNU-IAS into an internationally-respected institution active in a wide range of areas such as bioprospecting, bio-diplomacy, science governance, urban management, science policy for sustainable development, the protection of traditional knowledge and education for sustainable development.

YBhg Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid has published several journals and articles on issues relating to genetics and plant breeding, as well as biotechnology and biodiversity policies for developing countries. He is also a regular commentator on the national science affairs with a regular column in one of Malaysia’s daily newspapers.

He was conferred numerous awards and honours, amongst it is the Fulbright-Hays Fellowship (1981); Gold Medal Award, Rotary Research Foundation (1999); and the national Langkawi Award (1998), for outstanding contributions in the field of the environment. Fellow scientists have also acknowledged his contributions and honoured him by naming three species after him: a beetle (Paleosepharia zakrii); a cicada (Pomponia zakrii) and a pitcher plant (Nepenthes zakriana).