Japan remains committed to offer study opportunities to M'sians
Published on: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: The Government of Japan remains committed to offering study opportunities to Malaysian students, including Sabahans, under the 36-year-old Look East Policy.Its ambassador to Malaysia Dr Makio Miyagawa said the policy is still "shining" within the relationship between his country and Malaysia."The Look East Policy is still shinning. (In fact) we've been reinvigorating. We're happy to continue collaborations between the two countries to offer (study) opportunities for Malaysian students," he said after hosting a reception at a resort hotel here Monday to celebrate the 84th birthday of the Emperor Akihito, the Emperor of Japan.
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The Look East Policy was advocated by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad when he took office in 1981, to encourage Malaysian students learn from the experiences, work ethics, discipline of Japan (and also Korea) in the nation-building of Malaysia.He believed that the secret of Japanese success and its remarkable development lies in its labour ethics, morale, and management capability. For this purpose, Malaysia has been sending its students to Japan to study academics and acquire technical know-how.According to the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia website, 16,631 Malaysian students have been sent by the Malaysian Government to study in Japan under the Look East Policy programme, over the past 36 years.
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It also states that the programme consists of two parts, the first is to send Malaysian students to Japanese universities and institutes of technology and the second, is to send trainees to Japanese industries and training institutes. Five years ago when marking the policy's 30th year of implementation, Dr Mahathir had reportedly said it was still relevant for the next 30 years as there was still a lot to be learned from Japan and Korea, particularly about their culture and value system, including discipline, work ethics and patriotism.
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He had also said that Vision 2020 could also be achieved if Malaysians truly wanted to achieve it by learning from the two countries.Aside from education, Japan is also committed to helping Malaysia, especially Sabah, to strengthen its border security."We have been discussing between the governments (to provide security assets) like radars, surveillance aircrafts and other equipment needed by Malaysia," he said.These would be additional to two patrol ships which the Government of Japan had gifted to Malaysia few months ago.One of the ships arrived in Sabah in June to be used the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for enforcement and search and rescue operation. The reception to mark Emperor Akihito's birthday – his birthday falls on Dec 23 – was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan on behalf of the State Government and the people of Sabah.Also present was Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai and over 300 invited guests.Emperor Akihito is the 125th Japanese Emperor who is in direct lineage with the country's first Emperor almost 2,600 years ago.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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