Center for Malaysian Studies

Representative's Message

Founder Ikeda, who had the insight that the diversity of Malaysian society has "unlimited possibilities and a vast future", developed a dialogue with Malaysian intellectuals such as Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, His Majesty Sultan Azlan Shah, Former King of Malaysia and Chancellor of the University of Malaya, Royal Professor Ungku A. Aziz and Prof. Syed Hussain Alatas, Former Vice Chancellors of the University of Malaya. Soka University has also actively concluded academic agreements with Malaysian universities ahead of other universities, and has promoted and deepened multifaceted cooperation in education and research, including exchange programs, holding Pacific Rim Symposiums, and implementing large-scale research projects by the Faculty of Science and Engineering. International students from Malaysia have also made a significant contribution to the construction of our university. We will continue to make efforts in both research and education to further develop the initiatives that have been established over a long period of time at Soka University.

Objectives

To promote research on Malaysia from the humanities and social sciences perspective.
To encourage international collaborative research by focusing on the common social issues that Japan and Malaysia have.
To contribute to achieving the vision and specific goals of Soka University's Grand Design from the perspectives of research, education, SDGs, and diversity.

Current Activities

Applying for competitive external research funds
Promoting joint research projects
Proposing International Conference
Holding research seminars and meetings to report the research output produced by the center.
Conducting International Fieldwork I-II (short-term study abroad program in Malaysia)

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Members

Universiti Malaya (University of Malaya)

Hanafi bin Hussin

Professor
Specialized field:

Traditional Arts and Culture
Ritual, performance & heritage

Hanizah Binti Idris

Associate Professor
Specialized field:

Maritime Southeast Asia
Policy and Development
Ocean Governance

Nasrudin Md.Akhir

Associate Professor
Specialized field:

Japanese Foreign Policy
East Asia Regionalism
ASEAN-JAPAN Relation

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia)

Mohd Ikbal bin Mohd Huda

Senior Lecturer
Advisor of Center for Malaysian Studies
Specialized field:

International Relations
International Political Economy
Japan’s Political Economy (政府開発援助/ODA)
International Development
Governance and International Cooperation with an area focus of ASEAN and East Asia

Mohd Shazwan Mokhtar

Senior Lecturer
Specialized field:

Global history (imperialism and colonialism)
Economic history (neo-mercantilism and global trade)
Malaysian history (19th -20th Century)

Universiti Sains Malaysia

Khoo Suet Leng

Associate Professor
Specialized field:

Creative Cities
Creative & Cultural Industries/Economies
Urban Heritage Conservation
Human Capital Development

Lim Yoke Mui

Associate Professor
Specialized field:

Heritage and Conservation
Planning Administration and Practice
Building Economics
Quantity Surveying

Siti Haslina Md Harizan

Senior Lecturer
Specialized field:

Green Marketing
Islamic Marketing
Consumer Behaviour
Sustainable Consumption
Sustainability in Distance Education

Soka University

Sugimoto Ichiro

Representative / Professor
Specialized field:
Economic Statistics, Economic History
Research theme:
1. Estimates of Historical GDP Estimates in Developing Countries
2. Economic History of Malaysia and Singapore

Utsumi Tomoko

Associate Professor
Specialized field:
Development Economics
Research theme:
Education and labor markets in developing countries

Chan Lih Shing

Associate Professor
Specialized field:
Development Economics
Research theme:
Education and labor markets in developing countries

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Research Projects

(1) Japanese Economic Activities in British Malaya

	Malaysia	Japan	External Research Grants Agencies
Japanese economic activities at Batu Pahat District, State of Johore under British Colonial administration: Collaboration and Competition Among Actors	Md.Nasrudin	Sugimoto	JFE21st Century Foundation
Economic Activities of Japanese Capitalists and Migrants in British North Borneo: Focusing on Cooperation and Competition among Actors	Mohd. Ikbal	Sugimoto	TCER=TIFO Fellowship
Consumer Behavior of Malaysian towards Japanese Luxury Goods in Pre-War British Malaya	Mohd. Shazwan	Sugimoto	The Sumitomo Foundation

(2) Look East Policy

	Malaysia	Japan	External Research Grants Agencies
Rethinking Strategic Economic Cooperation with Japan in the Look East Policy 2.0	Mohd. Ikbal	Sugimoto	The Japan Foundation

(3) SDG-related Research Projects on Malaysia

	Members	Grants Agencies
Economic Ripple Effects of the Creation of Creative and Cultural Industries in George Town, Penang Island: An Estimation of Input-Ouput Table and Its Empirical Investigations	Sugimoto Ichiro, Khoo Suet Leng, Chan Lih Shing	Soka University Priority Research Promotion Project Type B “SDGs Promotion Program
Economic Development and the Gender Division of Labor: A Case Study of Malaysia	Utsumi Tomoko, Satogami Mihoko	Soka University Priority Research Promotion Project Type B “SDGs Promotion Program

(4) Economic History of Malaya

	Members	Grants Agencies
Formation and Accumulation for Wealth of Commercial migrants Chettiar in British Malaya using Estate Duty Fil	Sugimoto Ichiro, Md.Ikbal Md.Huda	JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Research Seminars

Publication

Policy Brief

No	Author(s)	Title
1	Mohd. Ikbal Mohd Huda	Kerjasama Ekonomic Malaysia-Jepun: Pelaburan dan Pasaran Strategik (Malaysia-Japan Economic Cooperation: Strategic Investment and Marketing)	PDF
2	Suet Leng KHOO, Ichiro SUGIMOTO, Alex Lih Shing CHAN	Why A Satellite Account is required for Malaysia's Cultural and Creative Sectors?	PDF