PM in Japan for 3-day working visit

Malaysia can be as advanced as Japan within a short time, says Dr M

PRIME Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Look East Policy he initiated in 1982 was not just about studying and working in Japan, but more importantly, adopting the work ethic and value system of the Japanese.

Addressing more than 250 Malaysians at a dinner here yesterday, he said while much of the values in the West had deteriorated over the years, good values were still practised in the East.

“When I came to Japan in 1961, the country was in shambles from the war. I watched the Japanese people work hard to rebuild their country and eventually become the world’s second biggest economy.”

He said the reason for Japan’s success was its citizens’ work ethic and value system, and that being laidback and not diligent in their work would have guaranteed failure.

“The Japanese have a strong sense of shame. In the old days, if they were ashamed or did something wrong, they would commit hara-kiri (ritual suicide). This feeling of not wanting to be ashamed for whatever you do is a strong incentive to do the best they can.

“In Malaysia we don’t have this value system. We don’t feel ashamed if we produce a product of shoddy quality. We should have this sense of shame in Malaysia.”

He said if Malaysians here could emulate this work ethic and bring it back home, Malaysia would be as advanced as Japan within a short time.

There are 5,500 Malaysians in Japan registered with the Malaysian embassy, 2,900 of which are university students and the rest professionals and entrepreneurs.

Earlier, Dr Mahathir told the audience about the changes being undertaken by the government after winning the 14th General Election (GE14) last month.

“This time around, things are not going to be so easy.

“We have to create a new government and we have never experienced a change of government over the last 60 years of independence. The people expect us not only to take over as the government, but also to change things — the values we have, the laws, to remove restrictions on the people and reduce bureaucracy.”

He said a major issue to resolve was the country’s RM1 trillion debt, and the government would not take the previous administration’s approach of selling land to raise money to repay it.

“We will try to resolve the financial problems without hurting the country,” he said.

“This RM1 trillion debt will drag us down, and we won’t have enough money to run the government as we did in the past. Some people will suffer, but there is a price for everyone to pay.”

Nevertheless, the government is encouraged by ordinary Malaysians who have shown their support and decided to help by donating money to it through Tabung Harapan Malaysia.

“Although the money collected is not big compared with RM1 trillion, the effort is greatly appreciated. I am grateful to them.”

Dr Mahathir, accompanied by his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, and officials from the Foreign Ministry, arrived here yesterday for a three-day working visit.