TOKYO: Malaysian students abroad must weigh for themselves the untruths from back home being spread on social media.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told them that there were groups bent on propagating hate and promoting racial discord among Malaysians with the sole aim of destroying the country.
"Our students here in Japan, for instance, who carry with them the country's good name, must emulate the Japanese in their pursuit of High Order Thinking Skills.
"The focus, determination and love for their country are the very reasons that Japan was able to rise and become an economic superpower.
"As the future leaders of this country, you too, must play your part in preserving and defending the country's identity as Bangsa Malaysia, its good name and future," Zahid said at a dinner he hosted for Malaysian students in Japan.
He said the second phase of the Look East Policy (LEP 2.0) that the country had adopted for Malaysians to, among others, inculcate positive values upheld by nations in the east, especially Japan, would shape them holistically.
This, he said, was crucial as Malaysia moves closer towards becoming a developed nation.
Zahid said policies set under the LEP2.0 would also serve to push Malaysia's focus on advanced technology.
The country, he added, would also move to increase its participation in Research and Development, which was lagging behind developed nations, partly due to the relatively small allocation for research and development (2 per cent) in the Gross Donestic Product compared to Japan's 10 per cent.
Zahid began his five-day working visit here yesterday and is focused on his mission to deepen Kuala Lumpur-Tokyo bilateral ties.
Top of his agenda includes paving the way for Tokyo and its businessmen to further explore trade and investment opportunities in Malaysia, as Japanese investors adopt a wait-and-see attitude.
Zahid is expected to engage with potential Japanese investors who are looking for greater gains in Malaysia when the country adopts the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Now Malaysia's fourth-largest trading partner, Zahid's working visit to the Land of the Rising Sun, his first as deputy prime minister, will chart the way in ensuring that Japan stays in the league of the country's top trading partners.
Japan stands just behind China, Singapore and the United States last year, with bilateral trade hitting some RM127 billion, accounting for 8.72 per cent of Malaysia's total trade.
Malaysia's total exports to Japan last year was RM73.81 billion, making it the country's third largest export destination.
It is Malaysia's fourth largest source of imports, with a total import value in 2015, of RM53.59 billion.
Malaysia is meanwhile, Japan's ninth largest trading partner and 11th largest export destination.The country is its eighth largest source of import, mainly for natural liquefied gas.
Malaysia has been seeing a healthy growth rate in the Japanese participation in its economy. This was partly evident in the 355 manufacturing projects implemented in the country between 2009 and 2015, with investments totaling RM33.06 billion.
Malaysia-Japan bilateral ties span 59 years and Zahid will be building on the strength of this already solid relations by meeting his counterpart, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is also finance minister. Central on the agenda are critical bilateral trade and investment matters.
Zahid will, on Wednesday, deliver a keynote address at the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association and Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA-JEMACA) Joint-Conference.
The platform will also be where Zahid will pitch to Japan the vast investment opportunities available in Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur is also looking at expanding its export market for goods and services and investment opportunities in Japan.
Malaysia last year approved a total of 60 projects worth RM4 billion involving Japanese investors.