Myvi Symbol Of Successful Malaysia-Japan Automotive Cooperation

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18- The Perodua Myvi is a symbol of the successful Malaysia-Japan Automotive Industry Cooperation (MAJAICO), the Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, Masahiko Horie said.

He said the Perodua Myvi was launched on May 25, 2005 and within just two years, had become the Malaysian Car of The Year.

"What is interesting about the Myvi is that,it is the perfect joint-venture cooperation between Malaysia and Japan," he told Bernama in an interview.

Horie disclosed how in order to realise the Myvi project, 500 Malaysian experts were sent to Japan, to learn to make a better and innovative car.

The experts, he said, spent two and a half years to produce the design for the Perodua Myvi.

"It was entirely a product of Japanese and Malaysian experts working together to create the Myvi design," Horie said.

He added that the prototype for the Perodua Myvi was the Daihatsu Boon.

He said that 80 percent of the spare parts for the Myvi was locally made.

"The Perodua Myvi is a very good example of what joint cooperation between Japan and Malaysia can achieve.

"This MAJAICO project has also been appreciated by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry or MITI, who are very grateful for the assistance of the Japanese experts.

"I hope the cooperation between Japan and Malaysian in the automotive sector can be further expanded so that more, better selling and quality cars can be produced in future," Horie said.

He said a Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was signed between Malaysia and Japan three years ago and 10 different committees were established to improve and enhance the business environment in both countries.

According to Horie, one of the important committees was MAJAICO, which is composed of many different components.

He explained that in order to promote the Malaysian automotive industry and make it more competitive while producing better quality products, he said Japan had sent over 15 experts.

"They were sent despatched to the different automotive companies.They were also assigned to manufacturers producing spare parts for Perodua, Proton and other car makers like Toyota and Mitsubishi.

"We did this in cooperation with the Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC), MITI and other Malaysian authorities," he added.