KUALA LUMPUR:Another 220 Malaysian students will leave for Japan soon to pursue further studies under the Look East Policy programme now already into its 40th year.

The students completed an exhaustive 20-month course here, including proficiency in Japanese language, and passed the necessary examination for admission into Japanese universities.

One hundred and forty students will continue their studies in Engineering while 40 in Social Science and the remaining 40 will continue their studies in Technological Colleges.

Of the total, 172 students are sponsored by the Public Services Department (JPA), 39 by Yayasan Pelajaran MARA (YPM) and nine by Petronas.

Speaking at their recent graduation ceremony conducted online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Hiroshi Oka said education and human capacity development had been the main pillar of the Look East Policy and the JPA had always been the robust driving force for advancing the policy.

The policy was introduced in 1982 to enable Malaysians to learn from Japan's technological advancement as well as work ethics and discipline.

"The Look East Policy has and will continue to be a symbol of the ever-growing cooperation between Japan and Malaysia. Studying in Japan should become a unique and valuable asset for development of your future careers," Oka told the students.

The Ambassador pointed out that more than 8,000 Malaysians had benefited from such study programmes in Japan while "making remarkable contributions" at the forefront of many fields in Malaysia, including developing renown businesses to generate wealth and enrich the livelihood of Malaysians.

Speaking at the same event, JPA's Director of Human Capital Development Datuk Dr Zulkapli Mohamed said the department's continuing sponsorships of students in Japanese universities was aimed at ensuring Malaysia had quality human resource on par with that of developed countries.

And he told the students: " Your selection to further your studies in Japan is a huge investment in developing our trained and versatile human resource. These opportunities should be optimised to acquire knowledge and gain a unique experience that can be applied to take Malaysia to a higher level upon your return."

Zulkapli also exhorted the students to learn from the Japanese culture of respect for rules, high integrity and cleanliness in their daily life as their take-away from Japan besides securing their degrees.

Muhammad Suhail Uzair, who emerged at the best student in the preparatory course, said his biggest motivation to pursue studies in Japan was to learn more about the Japanese culture, positive attitude and lifestyle.

"For example, their cleanliness, punctuality and respect for others. I want to learn as much as possible these traits for my own personal well-being," he said.

Another student, Hajar Umairah Zanuri said being given this opportunity to study in Japan was a dream come true for her.

"Japan is so advanced in technology and I hope to apply the knowledge that I shall gain to contribute to Malaysia's progress and development," she said.

-- BERNAMA