Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will be conferred
"The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers” by the emperor of
Japan during his three-day working visit to the “Land of the Rising Sun” that
begins tomorrow.
Malaysian ambassador to Japan Ahmad Izlan Idris said the
conferment of Japan’s highest award by Emperor Akihito which will take place at
the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday follows the huge contributions by the
prime minister in strengthening bilateral ties.
“Traditionally this award is
given to foreign leaders like prime ministers and statesmen from within and
outside Japan,” he told Malaysian journalists. Mahathir is the third leader from Asia to be conferred
the prestigious award after former Singapore prime minister the late Lee Kuan
Yew and former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh.
“The prime minister and his wife
Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali are also scheduled to attend a luncheon with the
Emperor and Empress of Japan on Wednesday at the Imperial Palace,” he said. This will be Mahathir’s third visit to Japan after
becoming Malaysia’s prime minister for the second time following the country’s
14th general election on May 9. The first was in June and the second in August.
Ahmad Izlan said that after receiving the award on the
second day of his visit, the prime minister and his delegation are scheduled to
have a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in the latter’s office. “Both prime ministers will
discuss bilateral ties and regional and international issues of common
interest,” he said. He said that on the second day, Mahathir is also
scheduled to attend the 36th Japan-Malaysia Economic Association
(Jameca)-Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (Majeca) Meeting and Malaysian
Business Forum in Tokyo.
On the first day of his visit, the prime minister will be
conferred an honorary doctorate by Tsukuba Universiti of Tokyo, which is the
highest recognition by the university, for his contributions to advance
international exchange in the field of research and education.
On the third day, Mahathir will deliver a keynote address
at Tokyo University here and interact with Japanese youths, particularly
students of the university. “The prime minister is the
honorary advisor of the Asia Public-Private Partnership of the university,” he
said.
During the three-day working visit, the prime minister
will also be accompanied by foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Education
Minister Maszlee Malik and International Trade and Industry Minister Ignatius
Darell Leiking. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in a statement said Japan
is a key trading partner of Malaysia and it is Malaysia’s fourth largest
trading partner.
“For Japan, Malaysia is its
eleventh largest trading partner in the world, and fourth among Asean countries
after Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia,” it said. The ministry also said the prime minister’s visit to the
two universities is part of Malaysia’s effort to attract Japanese universities
to set up overseas branches in Malaysia.
“The establishment of Japanese
university overseas branches in Malaysia will enable Malaysian students to have
access to the Japanese education system at a much lower cost. At the same time,
students could also learn the Japanese language, values and culture. This would
also benefit students from the region,” it said.