Almost everyone in our neighboring southeast Asian countries have respectively launched their own Space Program and we seemed to be left behind. What this means does not impact on whether we are economically resilient as a country, but perhaps a more questionable nation-building capability in the global market.
Space Program is instrumental to the formation of sustained ecosystem, creating more jobs and opportunities, perhaps opening the door to locally manufacture products, and raising overall economic progress.
But let's hear it from our local astronomers:
These are the voices of the people who are industry trailblazers by day but astronomers by night, so they are very much aware of the tangible benefits of the enrichment of science research.