THE Look East policy introduced 37 years ago is as relevant today as it was back then, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

Dr Mahathir said Japan and Korea have experienced rapid growth and have even overtaken the West in some fields. 

“Malaysia can emulate the success stories of the two nations and weave them into our own culture,” he said. 

Dr Mahathir was speaking at the launch of the Malaysia Future Leaders School (MFLS) at Universiti Malaya today. 

He said the MFLS is modelled on the Japanese iteration.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and his deputy, Steven Sim Chee Kong were present.

Mahathir said the success of the East is founded on discipline, loyalty to the country, responsibility to the community, and emphasis on quality.

He said the Japanese were meticulous workers who took their work seriously.

“The Japanese feel ashamed when they don’t work hard; it is part of their culture and their daily lives,” he said. 

He said he hoped the MFLS programme will produce leaders with integrity. 

“Leaders without integrity can cause problems to the country that the future generations will have to deal with,” 

The MFLS programme has three stages, starting with 500,000 people which are whittled down to 30,000 in the second stage, which is a 10-day “summer camp”. Finally, the top 200 are selected to advance to the third stage of a personal development course spanning seven months. – May 3, 2019.