THE move to empower the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) with the authority to incorporate companies is a forward-looking legislative reform that supports innovation, economic growth and biodiversity ownership.
Bawang Assan assemblyman Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said the move will transform SBC from a research-based institution into a bio-economic catalyst.
“It opens the door to self-sustaining innovation ecosystems. But there must be strong institutional governance and strict adherence to equitable benefit-sharing principles,” he said.
He said this when debating on the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2025 tabled by Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today (May 20).
Soon Koh said this a landmark provision allowing SBC to apply, own and hold intellectual property rights derived from its research and development (R&D) activities.
“This is a forward-looking reform that will position Sarawak to capitalise on its biological assets through legal and commercial protection of innovation,” he said.
He added the Bill aims to strengthen SBC’s new property mandate by empowering SBC to apply for patents, trademarks, and copyrights to safeguard its scientific discoveries, traditional knowledge, natural product formulation from misappropriation or biopiracy.
On the other hand, he said IP ownership will provide SBC with exclusive rights to license or sell its innovations paving for commercial ventures for a number of products, such as plant-based cosmetics and nutraceuticals, biofuels and microbial technology, botanical drug development.
“In addition, holding IP assets will strengthen SBS’s position in technology transfer and joint ventures, ensuring higher value for Sarawak,” he said.
He also said well-managed IP rights can become strategic assets that will generate royalties, licensing fees, and brand value.
“This will raise Sarawak’s innovation profile, making it more attractive to global bio-based investors and research collaborators.
“It will also enable the state to align with key international protocols such as Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit- sharing and with WIPO standards on traditional knowledge and genetic resources,” he said.
Soon Koh said the SBC Ordinance Amendment Bill 2025 would transform SBC from a research-based institution into a legally empowered innovation authority.
“By securing intellectual property rights over its research results and discoveries, SBC will ensure that Sarawak’s biodiversity is not only protected, but also leveraged for long-term economic as well as social value.
“In summary, the Bill will give SBC the tools to protect what we discover and profit from what we protect,” he said.
