The Look East policy, the Japanese model that was launched in 1982 is now no longer in vogue. Among the primary reasons for this are the Japanese economic malaise and the Asian financial crisis. The past twenty years have seen intense debates on the validity of the model in a country with a different cultural and ethnic make-up from Japan, and have also shown the political and bureaucratic obstacles the policy met with. All these have made Malaysians aware of the difficulties involved in the implementation of this policy and have greatly tempered the enthusiasm the policy initially aroused. Despite all these, Malaysia has not abandoned the Look East policy, as evidenced by recent statements from Malaysian leaders. Malaysia will continue with the dispatch of Malaysian students and trainees to Japan, and Japan will continue to be studied if only to find where it has gone wrong. Given this reaffirmation despite all these developments, and given the long period since the policy was launched, it is appropriate that some evaluation be made of this policy. This book attempts to make such an evaluation by considering the various meanings attached to this policy; its success or otherwise; and where it is heading. The discussion goes beyond the theory of the policy to an examination of the political and economic interests. The impact of the leadership and views of the most important political personality in the formulation and implementation of the policy, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The development of a loose network of individuals and groups consisting of Japanese and Malaysians that tried to influence the Look East policy and bilateral Malaysian-Japanese relations in the post-1981 period was traced.
KHADIJAH MD. KHALID, Ph. D., a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, Universiti Malaya. LEE POH PING, Ph. D., Professor at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Published by:
Penerbit UKM
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600, Bangi, Selangor,
Malaysia.
Fax no: 03-89254575
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