The ISIS calendar is filled with conferences, seminars, workshops
and colloquiums which provide an important avenue for individuals,
experts and intellectuals to exchange views on national and
international issues.ISIS also conducts studies on policy
relevant issues.
The World Trade Organisation -
Perspectives from the South
This Conference was organised in July 1996 as a prelude to the
WTO Ministerial Meeting scheduled for Singapore in December
1996. It brought together from developing countries their
Geneva-based ambassadors responsible for WTO matters as well as
senior government officials and policy analysts. The Conference
was convened to highlight the concerns and views of the South
over the future course of the WTO which many developing
countries feel is being steered by the industrial countries in a
direction which is detrimental to the South. It was hoped that
by coming together, developing countries could try and develop a
consensus position on some of the critical issues facing the WTO,
in particular, on the"new" issues which industrial countries may
force on to the WTO agenda during the Singapore Ministerial
Meeting - -global investment liberalisation, trade-environment
linkages, the social clause, competition policy, and the issue
of corruption in government procurement.
East Asian Development: Lessons for a New Global Environment
This conference was co-organised with the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in February 1996.
The conference was a culmination of a research project
undertaken by UNCTAD and funded by the Government of Japan, to
study the East Asian development process. The conference
discussed UNCTAD's research findings and considered policy
options and recommendations for other developing countries, by
drawing on the expertise of the UNCTAD project researchers, as
well as international and Malaysian policy-makers, academics,
and business people invited to the conference.
APEC: Building as Pacific Community, 23
January 1995 At the request of YAB Dato' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the
Prime Minister of Malaysia, ISIS Malaysia hosted a TV Forum
entitled "APEC: Building a Pacific Community. The panelists were
Mr Zhao Gongda, Peoples Republic of China's representative in
the EPG, Prof Ippei Yamazawa, Japan' s representative in the EPG
and Dr Hadi Soesastro, Executive Director of the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies of Jakarta. The objective
was to discuss issues and controversies resulting from the
Leader's Declaration at Bogor. It also discussed at length the
interpretation of and the different approaches to, community
building.
Dialogue with John Naisbitt, 24 January 1995
John Naisbitt of "Megatrends 2000" and an ISIS International
Distinguished Fellow held a dialogue with a group of prominent
personalities both from the private and public sectors as well
as the academia. The dialogue focused on issues and trends in
Asia and the West's perception of Asia.
Conference on Environment, 15-16 February, 1995 The theme of the conference was "Industrial Ecology" and its
objective was to address the Earth Summit theme in the context
of rapidly industrialising Southeast Asia. The conference
attracted about 100 participants comprising journalists,
business leaders, government officials and members of the
academia. It was organised by ISIS in collaboration with World
Times.
East Asian English Newspaper Editors Roundtable, 26-27 April,
1995 The reasons for holding the meeting were that the region's
economic, political and social integration is deepening at an
unprecedented rate, and of late, new issues of human rights,
democracy and environment and social clauses based essentially
on western values and perceived from western perspectives have
been thrust on the region.
Collaborate Approaches Seminar (Sub-Saharan) 12-16 June 1995
World Bank Workshop on Regulatory Reforms and Regulatory
Policies in East Asia
Second National Workshop on Biodiversity,
5 April 1994 About 60 participants from government departments, NGOs and
institutions of higher learning attended the workshop on
"National Action Plan on Biodiversity".
Malaysia-Tanzania Roundtable, 11 - 12 April 1994
Theme: Privatisation and private sector development. The
Tanzanian delegation consisted of parliamentarians, labour
unionists and representatives of the private sector. Malaysia
was selected because of the major interest in Tanzania for the
manner in which "indigenisation" issues have been resolved in
addition to the successful track record with privatisation. The
other two issues of concern were. labour retrenchment and land
ownership.
US-Malaysia Economic Symposium 16 June 1994 The symposium on opportunities for expanding US-Malaysia
economic relations was held at the Ritz-Carlton, Washington DC.
The principal speaker was Dato' Seri Rafidah Aziz, the Minister
for International Trade and Industry, Malaysia. About 60
participants mainly from the private sector attended. The
symposium was sponsored by the Asia Foundation, ISIS Malaysia
and the US-ASEAN Council for Business and Technology.
Fifth Malaysia-US Colloquium, 20-22 June 1994 Malaysia sent a 17 member delegation headed by Tan Sri
Zainal Abidin Sulong, Chairman of ISIS Malaysia to this
colloquium, held at Morrison House, Alexandria, Washington DC.
The keynote address entitled "The Asia Pacific Region and the
21st Century: Working Towards a Dynamic Prosperous Stable Era"
was presented by Dato' Seri Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak, the
Minister of Defence, Malaysia.
Malaysia Summit Meeting, 21-22 November 1994 An international conference on trade and investment
opportunities in Malaysia was jointly organised by the
International Herald Tribune, and ISIS Malaysia, in association
with the American-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce. The conference
was attended by 300 foreign and local businessmen and
journalists.
Sixth Southeast Asia Forum, 10-13 December 1994 Entitled "One Southeast Asia: Political, Economic and
Security Implications", the Forum was attended by some 50
participants from all the Southeast Asian countries. One of the
notable events of the programme was the ceremony held to welcome
the Institute for International Relations, Vietnam, into
ASEAN-ISIS.
Asia Pacific Roundtable This is an annual affair held in the first week of June. The
theme of the roundtable is "Confidence Building and Conflict
Reduction in the Pacific". About 200 participants from 21
countries in the region attend the roundtable which is organised
by ISIS Malaysia on behalf of the ASEAN Institute of Strategic
and International Studies. It is sponsored by the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA). The most recent
roundtable was from 5-8 June 1996.
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Dato' Dr Noordin Sopiee, the Director-General of ISIS
Malaysia was nominated by the Cabinet to represent Malaysia in
the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation.
Pacific Dialogue Policy makers, senior administrators, academics and leading
businessmen from US and Asia attended this conference jointly
organised by the Asia Pacific Policy Centre of the US, ISIS
Malaysia and the Institute of Policy Research, Malaysia. It is a
very successful conference with the frank and sincere exchange
of views, and discussions of problems and opportunities in the
region. The first Pacific Dialogue was held from 12-15 November
1994 and the second dialogue was from 7-10 January 1996.
Commonwealth Inter-Governmental Working Group Meeting on "The
Emergence of a Global Humanitarian Order" The Director-General of ISIS Malaysia Dato' Dr Noordin
Sopiee represented Malaysia at the above meeting, organised by
the Commonwealth Secretariat. This high level inter-governmental
group is to examine specific ways in which the Commonwealth
could make the fullest possible contribution to the work of the
international community on the theme of the Cyprus CHOGM "The
Emergence of a Global Humanitarian Order."
Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP)
ISIS Malaysia is the Secretariat for the above Council. The
first two Steering Committees Meetings were held on 5 June 1994
and 13-14 December 1994. The most recent meeting was held from
4-5 June 1996.
East Asian Economic Caucus Dato' Dr Noordin Sopiee gave a series of talks on the "East
Asian Revolution" and the need for an East Asian Caucus in
meetings in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai between May to August
1994.
Seminar on Innovation Capability: The German Model About 30 participants from the public and private sectors
attended the seminar held at ISIS Malaysia. It was jointly
organised by the Malaysian Industry Government Group for High
Technology (MIGHT), the National Chamber of Commerce and
Industry Malaysia (NCCIM), the Malaysian Technology Development
Co-operation (MTDC) and ISIS Malaysia.
Malaysian Monetary Policy YB Tan Sri Dr Lin See Yan, Deputy Director of Bank Negara
Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia) gave a talk on "Managing
monetary policy in today's Malaysia". The talk was attended by
about 80 executives from the private and public sectors.
Public Lecture co-organised with Japan
External Trade Organisation (JETRO) by Mr Noboru Hatekeyama,
President, JETRO on "The Future of Apec" on 18 March 1996.
Lecture by Mr Hiroo Inoue, Managing Director Kao Malaysia, on
"How to Transfer Technology Effectively: Case of One Japanese
Company" on 7 May 1996.
Lecture by Dr David Camroux, Director of Studies and Research,
Centre des Hautes Etudes sur I'Afrique et I'Asie Modernes,
Foundation Nationale des Sciences Politiques France on "The
First Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Bangkok, March 1996:
Significant or Insignificant" on 18 July 1996.
The Fourth Annual Conference on Japan on the theme "Japan and
Asia in an Era of Economic Interdependence" on 1-2 August 1996.
Special Lecture in conjunction with the Japan Festival in
Malaysia 1996, co-organised with the Japanese Chamber of Trade
and Industry, Malaysia (JACTIM) by Prof. Isamu Miyazaki, Special
Adviser to the Daiwa Institute of Research, Ltd on "Japan and
the Dynamic Asian Economies: Future Directions" on 27 August
1996.
In-house Talk by Prof. Takehito Sugiyama, Faculty of Commerce,
Hitotsubashi University on "An Overview of Japan's
Transportation System" on 3 Sept. 1996.
Lecture by Prof. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Dept of Anthropology &
Sociology, UKM on A Malaysian Eye on Japan" on 26 September
1996.
CJS Network members visit Kao Malaysia
Another helping-hand for CJS Funding The Agreement on the Funding of CJS was signed by Keidanren,
Jactim and ISIS Malaysia on 23 January 1995.
Informing Asia about Asia by Asia A major outcome of the 2nd East Asian English Newspaper
Editors' Roundtable was the decision to set up the East Asian
News Features Network.
Improving the quality of Japan's lifestyle Dr Andras Hernadi spoke on Japan's 1992-96 plan to improve
the quality of life of its citizens.
The Kobe Quake: A Firsthand Account Prof. T. Keisei Tanahashi of Tokyo Keizai University spoke
on the various aspects of the Kobe earthquake. Part One of the
interview also covers the rescue operation and Kobe's future.
Kobe Earthquake Shakes Japan's Economy, Politics Already dubbed the "Great Hanshin Earthquake", the Kobe
earthquake on January 17, 1995 is destined to go down in the
annals of Japan's history. This article, Part 2, explores the
impact of the earthquake on Japanese economy and politics at
home and abroad.
Japan's Slow Boat to Economic Recovery Kagehide Kaku, the Director of the Research and Statistics
Department of the Bank of Japan, spoke on the Japanese economy,
specifically on the quarterly economic outlook.
Asia in the 21st Century In a lecture entitled "Asia in the Pacific Rim: Towards the
21st Century" on December 9, 1994, Minoru Makihara, President of
Mitsubishi Corporation, presented his views on Japan, Asia and
the US in the Asia-Pacific region.
Whither Japan-Malaysia Relations? Reflecting on relations between Japan and Malaysia,
Ambassador Taizo Nakamura sees the two countries as having
arrived at a crossroad.
Industrial Revolution in Asia and in the Japanese Economy On January 17, 1995, the Japan Cultural Centre, Kuala
Lumpur, and the CJS co-organised a lecture by Prof. Tsuneo lida
of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. Prof.
lida spoke on the factors behind the industrialisation process
of the East Asian countries and the possible resultant
conflicts.
Japan in the New Asia-Pacific Prominent businessman and renowned spokesman of Japan's
business world, Yotaro Kobayashi, believes Japanese leaders can
be directed to pay more attention to the voices of Asia.
Japan: Change in the Offing Japan is now entering a new era after a long period of
stability. The state-guided export-led development strategy has
now become a hindrance.
Dawn of a Yen Bloc? Will economic interdependence in Asia spur the advent of a
yen bloc? C.H. Kwan, Senior Economist at the Centre for Policy
Research, Nomura Research Institute, explores this possibility.
Selling Parts to Proton Prof. Makoto Anazawa from Otaru University of Commerce in
Hokkaido, Japan shares his views on Proton's symbiotic
relationship with its vendors.
Japan: From Importer to Innovator Prof. Akira Goto gives a history of and update on Japan's
research and development activities. He also outlines several
problems faced by its innovation system.
Japan's Search for Identity More than five decades ago, the rise of nationalism in Japan
brought forth devastating consequences to Asia and Japan. Today,
Japan is still grappling with its identity as a nation, says
Prof. Kosaku Yoshino of Sophia University.
Japanese Management Evolves Prof. Mitsuyo Hanada talks about the past, present and
future of Japanese firms. He also touches on the role of
Japanese firms in the global economy as well as the implications
of those experiences for Malaysian companies.
CJS Luncheon Talk A Forum for Promoting Dialogue between Malaysia and Japan
was given by Shinichi Nishio, Chairman of Keidanren's Committee
on Promotion of Inter-Cultural Understanding and Kazuo Nukazawa,
Managing Director of Keidanren on January 17.
Panel Discussion Jointly organized by the Keizai Koho Centre and CJS on
January 24 on "Economic Development of ASEAN and the Role of
Japan". Keynote address was by Katsuhiro Utada, Vice Chairman of
the Keizai Koho Centre and Keidanren.
Third Annual Conference on Japan The theme for this Conference held from 12 to 13 April was "Revitalisation
of Japan's Economy: Implications for Malaysia". Keynote address
by Chua Jui Meng, Deputy Minister of International Trade and
Industry
Book Launch Three books "Human Resource Development in Malaysia -
Japan's Contribution since 1980" "Attracting Japanese Tourists
and Enhancing their Impact on Malaysia" and "Jepun dan Asia
Timur"were launched by Chua Jui Meng, Deputy Minister of
International Trade and Industry on April 12.
JACTIM - CJS Seminar The seminar was given by Tan Sri Dr Lin See Yan on "Managing
Monetary Policy in today's Malaysia"on May 12.
CJS Forum On May 16, a forum on "East Asia Towards the Year 2000"was
held. Invited speakers were Professor Ezra Vogel, the National
Intelligence Council of the US Government, and Ichiro Uchida,
Senior Fellow, the Asia Foundation.
Japan Lecture Series "The Revolution in East Asia; Japan's Role"was the title of
a lecture given by Dato' Dr. Noordin Sopiee during a CJS Lecture
and Dinner Meeting in Japan on June 13, as part of CJS publicity
effort aimed at the Japanese business community.
Japan Lecture Series. Professor Richard J. Samuels, Head of the Department of
Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the
Director of the MIT Japan Program presented a lecture on
"Technological Transformation and Japan's National Security" at
ISIS Malaysia on July 28.
Japan Festival in Malaysia '94 In conjuction with the Annual Japan Festival , CJS and the
Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry Malaysia co-organised a
talk on August 24, entitled "Japanese Economy and Politics in
the Year 2000"by Naoki Tanaka.
