The relationship between Malaysia
and Japan is believed to have dated back to as early as the 15th century,
during the reign of the Malacca Sultanate and the Ryukyu Kingdom. The
Malaysia-Japan relationship, which was established in 1957, underwent a huge
transformation when the Malaysia Look East Policy (LEP) was introduced of
in 1982 by Malaysia’s former prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The LEP was fundamentally meant to
increase the bilateral economic relationship and transform Malaysia into an
industrial nation based on Japan’s development model as well as work culture
and ethics. Since its installation in 2002, LEP has attracted as many as
1,400 Japanese companies to Malaysia. Japan has also emerged as one of
Malaysia’s largest trading partners throughout the 1990s with a huge surge
in Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI).
In conjunction with the 40th
anniversary of the Look East Policy, UTAR Centre for International Studies
(CIS) and UTAR Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies
(TCLC) jointly organised the UTAR Global Affairs Talk Series: 40th
Anniversary of the Look East Policy on 22 August 2022 via Zoom.
H.E Ambassador
Takahashi is happy to know that there are more than 10 Japanese students who
are studying at UTAR
Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia
His Excellency (H.E) Ambassador Takahashi Katsuhiko was invited to grace the
online forum. During his opening speech, he said, “UTAR had been actively
collaborating with the Japanese universities and companies over the years.
UTAR has 21 Japanese partner universities for student exchange as well as
research. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 1,000 Japanese and
Malaysian students continued to have international exchange physically and
virtually for the past two years.” He added, “I am happy to learn that more
than 10 students from Japan are studying at UTAR. I really hope that the
collaboration between UTAR and the Japanese organisations will continue to
develop further, seizing the opportunities of the 40th
anniversary for LEP.”
Prof Faidz
expressing his heartiest gratitude to H.E Ambassador Takahashi for taking
the time to give a short address to the participants of the forum
UTAR Vice President for R&D and
Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman welcomed His Excellency
Ambassador Takahashi Katsuhiko to the online forum and said, “On behalf of
the organising committee, staff and students of UTAR, I would like to
express my heartiest gratitude to His Excellency Ambassador Takahashi for
taking the time from his busy schedule to give a short address to the
participants of this forum. It means a lot to the participants as we know
that both Japan and Malaysia have mutually beneficial ties and both
countries have enjoyed many meaningful socio-economic, cultural and academic
exchanges over the years.”
A total of three speakers spoke at
the online forum. Dean of the Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and
Language Learning (CPKLL) Universiti Malaysia Sabah Dr Lai Yew Meng
presented on “Malaysia-Japan Relations under the Second Mahathir
Administration”, Visiting Fellow of Institute of Strategic and International
Studies in Malaysia Dr Stephen Leong Mun Yoon presented on “Look East
Policy: Role of MAJECA and ISIS Malaysia” and Senior Lecturer of Universiti
Malaya Dr Jamila binti Mohd presented on “The Role of Education in Look East
Policy”. Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) lecturer Dr Tan Wooi Yee
moderated the talk.
Finally, the forum ended with an
intensive Q&A session.
H.E Ambassador
Takahashi (top row, most right) with speakers, Dr Lai (top row, middle), Dr
Stephen Leong (second row, middle) and Dr Jamila (bottom row, most left)
The poster of the
event
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