Kuala Lampur, July 20 -- Malaysia's ambition to become a high-income, innovation-driven nation depends not only on advanced laboratories, sophisticated hospitals or cutting-edge technologies.

It begins much earlier in classrooms where young minds first discover that science is more than a school subject. It is a way to solve problems, improve lives and shape the nation's future.

Yet convincing young people to pursue science is becoming increasingly challenging.

Many students continue to perceive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as difficult, abstract or reserved only for exceptionally gifted learners.

This perception threatens Malaysia's long-term capacity to produce the scientists, healthcare professionals, eng...