KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today expressed his admiration for Japan and its “value system”, which he said was the bedrock for the country’s immense success today.
In a press conference with the Japan National Media Club broadcast ‘live’ from Tokyo, Dr Mahathir said that he had conducted his own analysis, and discovered that it was Japan’s values that contributed most to the nation’s prosperity.
“I must admit that it was Japan which inspired me to formulate the “Look East” policy.
“Among the value system is this strong sense of shame when you fail to do something. When you do something badly, you feel ashamed of yourself. In the old days, of course, you’d commit harakiri, now you don’t.
“But you have such a strong sense of shame, that you want to achieve the best possible outcome, so that you will not be shamed by anybody, and that contributed much towards your quality, and the speed at which you do things, and the ability to grow your country and compete with the rest of the world,” he added.
Dr Mahathir is currently on an official trip to Japan, for the annual Nikkei Conference, in a move to strengthen bilateral ties.
The original “Look East” policy was advocated by Dr Mahathir when he took office in 1981, to encourage Malaysian students in Japan who could bring back knowledge and acquire Japanese cultural values such as work ethics, discipline and punctuality.
Dr Mahathir has said in the past that the “Look East” policy should not only focus on trade relations between Malaysia and Japan, but also on emulating Japanese values such as diligence and shame of failure.
