Najib outlines six areas that Look East Policy's second wave should focus on

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today outlined six areas that the second wave of the Look East Policy (LEP2.0) should focus on, ranging from cutting-edge technologies to areas related to senior citizens.

On cutting-edge technologies, he said this was about industry tie-ups to increase the flow of research and innovation from Japanese institutions, in everything from nanotechnology to bio and environmental technology.

Outlining the second area, high-tech skills development, Najib who is here for a working visit in conjunction with the 40th Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit, said this was about new knowledge-based skills development, to accompany the new technologies.

On another area, high-end services development, he pointed out that this was about building on Japan's know-how in services such as hospitality and healthcare, and opening up new collaborations.

"The second wave of the Look East Policy is about the industries of the future: high-tech and low-carbon," he said in his keynote address at the opening of the 32nd Conference of the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (Majeca) and Japan-Malaysia Economic Association (Jameca) joint conference at the Imperial Hotel, here.

Another area the prime minister outlined was managing eco-systems with safe, reliable and renewable energies.

Here, he said tackling over-dependence on fossil fuels and improving water supply management were current concerns, and Japanese sustainable energy expertise could be tapped to tackle these problems.

Najib said another area was modernising small and medium-sized enterprises which formed the bulk of companies in Malaysia.

This can be done with technology transfers and management input, encouraging new connections between SMEs with high-growth potential to enable them to move up the value chain.

Touching on senior citizens, he said this was about studying and implementing programmes to mitigate the coming challenges of an ageing population, and focusing on healthcare and lifestyle for senior citizens.

While saying that Malaysia had benefited immeasurably from the LEP, he said the country had already put in place the structure needed to implement the LEP2.0 with a ministerial committee led by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

"Although our governments can plan the way forward for the new Look East Policy, it is the private sector, so ably represented by the business councils and economic associations, that will drive success," he said.

In his speech, the prime minister also noted that members of Jameca-Majeca had played an integral part in furthering bilateral relations in the early days of the Look East Policy.

Describing Malaysia and Japan as "two old friends", whose friendship had deepened with time, Najib said it was a relationship founded on economic cooperation.

The Look East Policy was introduced by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1982.

During Najib's meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in July this year in Malaysia, both countries had agreed to strengthen further the bilateral ties through a second wave of the Look East Policy.

Najib had said then that the second wave should not be limited to training and education, but must also be more progressive with focus on priorities and changes in the current economic structure.