The previous BN administration did not fully understand the philosophy of the Look East policy, Japanese ambassador to Malaysian Makio Miyagawa (above) said today.

He cited the example of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project where Japan was one of the bidders for the RM55 billion project.

"On this particular project, the previous administration proposed foreign companies to apply and the companies could come to Malaysia or Singapore and set the rails, operate the trains, offer services and gain profits. But if accidents happen, then it is (that foreign company's) responsibility.

"This is not the Look East policy. Our position is that we offer technology, we train engineers and operators. We offer all the possibilities which Malaysians and Singaporeans can gain for the purpose of operating and managing this high-technology transportation station by themselves.

"This was our proposal but the previous administration did not like it, but I think Dr Mahathir Mohamad understood it," said Miyagawa at a dinner event organised by Rotary Clubs in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

Japan remains ready to train and offer opportunities to Malaysian youths to study in Japan and come back and contribute to Malaysia's development, he added.

"This advanced stage of the Look East policy is called Look East Policy 2.0 but the real philosophy was not quite well understood by the previous administration," he said.

The Look East policy was the brainchild of Mahathir back in the 1980s during his first stint as prime minister when he encouraged the emulation of Japan's development model.

The HSR project, meanwhile, was first mooted during former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's administration but its fate now hangs in the balance after Mahathir's administration came into power.

Apart from Japan, China has also gone all-out to bid for the HSR project (artist rendition above).

Cleanliness, punctuality 

On a separate matter, Miyagawa said Malaysians were moving towards becoming a more community-minded society.

He said this when responding to an attendee who had praised the Japanese for their conduct during the recent World Cup tournament after Japanese fans were caught on video cleaning up litter after football matches.

Recalling an 11 am Malaysian event he was supposed to attend, Miyagawa said he was told to arrive at 10.45am to welcome the minister who would be attending the event as well.

"I arrived at 10.44am actually, but the minister was already there. There are many other instances where meetings now start on time," he said, laughing.

He also related another incident at the Bon Odori Festival celebration in Malaysia recently where many food stalls were lined up.

"The Selangor menteri besar was also there and he was surprised, I was surprised because that there were so many nice food stalls, but no litter on the ground," he said.