the fifth malaysia plan implemented from to stipulated that universities would give greater emphasis to basic research relative to gris cheng likewise the rapid rise in patenting among the leading asian universities such as national university of singapore and tsinghua over the last ten years coincided with a growing emphasis on basic research rather than the basic vs applied distinction it seems that the quality of the research and its strategic focus on economic significance the socalled strategic basic research or pasteur quadrant are the main parameters that matter