Abstract

The development of genetically modified crops in Malaysia is now closer to the commercialization stage. This is in line with the Malaysian Biotechnology Policy in transforming science into business by 2011. However, the ethical aspects of modern biotechnology have not been taken into consideration while doing the research and development related to modern biotechnology. The objective of this paper is to study the ethical perception of the Malaysian stakeholders in the Klang Valley region towards modern biotechnology in general and GM crops. A survey was carried out on 434 respondents from various stakeholder groups in the Klang Valley region. Results of the survey showed that the respondents were ambivalent and cautious about modern biotechnology and GM crops. Although they perceived modern biotechnology as not threatening the natural order of things and having high benefit, they felt that humans have no absolute right to modify living things, were moderately concerned about its possible risks and were highly concerned about the possibility of market monopoly by giant companies and developed countries. They also stressed the high need for labeling of modern biotechnology products and only had moderate confidence in modern biotechnology regulations. Perceptions towards the ethical aspects of GM crops were found to vary according to the type of gene transfers involved. GM crops that involve intra-species gene transfer, such as plant to plant gene transfer, were perceived as more beneficial, less risky and more ethically and religiously acceptable, as compared to those involving cross-species gene transfers. Crossspecies gene transfer that was developed for medicalrelated benefits was more acceptable, compared to those that offered only additional benefits, such as nutritional enhancement.