KUALA
LUMPUR — Ties between Tokyo and Kuala
Lumpur took a significant step forward Friday with the official opening of the Malaysia-Japan
International Institute of Technology.
Malaysian
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama were
on hand to mark the culmination of nearly a decade of preparatory work by both
sides.
"This
day has been a long time coming, but it has certainly been worth the
wait," Najib said in his speech at the opening ceremony.
"It
is, I think, a potent symbol not only of Malaysia's rich and burgeoning
relationship with Japan but of our confidence in its technology, our admiration
for the Japanese work ethic and our desire to open a window into its way of
life."
Hatoyama
said the institute is Japan's way of helping to develop human resources in the
region.
"I
came up with a concept that Japan should promote the development of human
resources who will underpin regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific in 30
years by significantly expanding the number of exchange students," he said
during a speech.
"I
am convinced that thanks to the strong initiative by Prime Minister Najib, the
institute will introduce Japanese-style engineering education to Malaysia and
significantly contribute to the development of the entire region as a center of
academic excellence in engineering, not only in Malaysia but also in
ASEAN," he said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The new
institute, located on the Kuala Lumpur campus of the University of Technology,
Malaysia, took in the first batch of 115 students last September. It has an
academic staff of 30, six of them Japanese. By 2017, the institute aims to have
almost 3,000 students and a faculty of 270, including 20 Japanese members.
It was
established with the support of a consortium of 24 Japanese universities and a
loan of 250 million ringgits (about ¥6.1 billion) from the Japanese government.
Najib said the Malaysian government will allocate 100 million ringgits (¥2.4
billion) annually over the next seven years.
The
project is part of Malaysia's "Look East Policy" introduced in
February 1982 to emulate Japan's work ethic and acquire its business skills and
technological knowhow.
Kyodo
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