| Japanese (日本語)
Top PageCulture & Education > Studying in Japan >  Look East Policy
THE MALAYSIAN LOOK EAST POLICY

BACKGROUND OF THE LOOK EAST POLICY

In July 1981, Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad became the Prime Minister of Malaysia. After six months in his office, he announced an initiative to learn from the experiences of Japan (and Korea) in the nation-building of Malaysia. He considered that the secret of Japanese success and its remarkable development lies in its labour ethics, morale, and management capability. He felt a programme enabling that young Malaysians to learn in Japan would contribute to the economic and social development of Malaysia. For this purpose, Malaysia decided to dispatch their students to Japan, to study not only academics and technical know-how but also to learn labour ethics and discipline of the Japanese people.

This initiative is called "Look East Policy." The programme consists of two parts. The first is to send Malaysian students to Japanese universities and institutes of technology. The second is to send trainees to Japanese industries and training institutes. These programmes are funded by the Government of Malaysia, and the Government of Japan supports these programmes by sending Japanese teachers to Malaysia and also by sharing a part of its costs.

"Look East Policy - The Challenges for Japan in a Globalized World"
Speech by H.E. Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad (Dec 2002)

Alumni Look East Policy Society

Number of Malaysian Students in Japan sent by the Malaysian Government
under the Look East Policy
 

  Study Program Training Program  
YearUniversity
(Undergraduate)
Technical
College
University
(Postgraduate)
JLPMT
MJHEP
(HELP)
Subtotal
ITTP
(EPPT)
BMT
(EPPT)
Youth
Training
Subtotal
Total
1982〜94     -   - 0   151 1,642 1,793 1,793
1982 - - - - -   135     135 135
1983 - - - - -   418     418 418
1984 39 24 - - - 63 248     248 311
1985 45 28 - - - 73 236     236 309
1986 64 30 - - - 94 229     229 323
1987 79 29 - - - 108 221     221 329
1988 81 30 - - - 111 202     202 313
1989 84 30 - - - 114 176     176 290
1990 81 29 - 10 - 120 152     152 272
1991 88 50 - 10 - 148 119     119 267
1992 104 65 - 12 - 181 146     146 327
1993 114 78 - 15 - 207 119     119 326
1994 135 92 - 20 - 247 107     107 354
1995 123 89 - 17 53 282 79 28 149 256 538
1996 128 88 - 11 62 289 81 35 150 266 555
1997 145 96 - 10 79 330 76 42 150 268 598
1998 143 94 - 6 31 274 68 20 146 234 508
1999 127 84 - - 28 239 47 42 149 238 477
2000 96 54 19 - - 169 62 39 153 254 423
2001 107 - 18 - 52 177 50 40 156 246 423
2002 147 47 17 - 49 260 68 39 140 247 507
2003 149 56 16 4 69 294 74 40 148 262 556
2004 148 69 19 10 54 300 41 40 111 192 492
2005 172 79 18 10 56 335 40 34 130 204 539
2006 182 61 18 7 - 268 70 120 190 458
2007 154 71 23 8 - 256 78 84 162 418
2008 168 76 11 6 75 336 84 77 161 497
2009 165 74 11 discontinued in 2008 85 335 124 73 197 532
2010 130 72 6   79 287 128 73 201 488
2011 158 71 10   84 323 145 50 195 518
2012 132 58 12   86 288 153 50 203 491
2013 126 40 9   57 232 106 49 155 387
2014 109 91     54 254 120 47 167 421
2015 102 76     90 268 93 43 136 404
2016 123 76     103 302        
2017 138 77     117 332          
Total 4,086 2,084 207 156 1,363 7,896 4,845 3,890 8,735 16,631


JLPMT: Japanese Language Program for Malaysian Teachers           
MJHEP: Malaysia-Japan Higher Education Project (2014-)           
HELP: Higher Education Loan Fund Program           
ITTP: Industrial and Technical (in-plant) Training Program           
BMT: Business Management Training           
EPPT: Economic Partnership Program Training   
(c) Embassy of Japan in Malaysia
No.11 Persiaran Stonor, Off Jalan Tun Razak,
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia