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| On October 24th, 1997, a delegation from the ]ICA
Alumni Society of Malaysia, led by the society's Vice President, Mr. Mohamed
Razif Kamarudin, arrived in Tokyo. For some members of the delegation,
this was their second trip, the first being the participation in JICA training
programs. Some members have recently made visits to Japan and for others
almost 15 years have passed since their last visit.
Acourtesy call was made to the Training Affairs Department of JICA by Mr. Razif, Ms. Wan Hasenah, Committee member and Associate member Mr. Abd. Rashid. They were welcomed by Mr. Masaru Morimoto, Managing Director and Mr. Toichi lwata, Director of the Training Affairs Department. The trip which was planned early in the year was a significant trip for the Alumni. Two proposals were presented to JICA for consideration. One proposal was a request for Malaysia to host the regional (Asia) meeting of Alumni representatives. The other was the offer of a homestay program for JICA personnel. The details of the two proposals will be forwarded to the JICA headquarters through the JICA Malaysia office. Mr. Razif discussed the activities of the Malaysian Alumni which primary focuses on enhancing cooperation and friendship between ex-participants. Activities include talks on health and other matters, excursions, goodwill games, and Japanese language and cooking classes. The Alumni has sent several missions to neighboring countries to help foster relations in the region. The alumni visited the Indonesian. Alumni several years ago and is in constant contact with the Singaporean Alumni. Recently, it helped the Alumni of Sri Lanka in celebrating their 25th anni- versary. It is believed that the Malaysian Alumni is the first to send a delegation to Japan. By doing so, the Alumni has shown interest in the effort to contin- ue the spirit of cooperation amongst ex-participants in Malaysia and JICA. The delegation was very happy with their reception by Mr. Morimoto on behalf of JICA who has shown great interest in the activities of the Malaysian Alumni. JICA headquarters has always encouraged the formation of Alumni activities in participating countries. With this in mind, and the continuous support given by the JICA Resident Representative in Malaysia, the Malaysian Alumni is more aware of the large amount which can be done to promote cooperation between their members and JICA. JICA has done a lot for ex-participants and their countries and hope that the relationships and cooperation do not end when the participant returns to his or her country. Members of the Malaysian delegation also took the opportunity to visit
old acquaintances. The reunion brought back fond memories of when they
were in Japan for the JICA training programs. The trip was a success and
the Alumni plans to make similar trips to other countries to promote friendship,
cooperation and understanding.
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