INDIVIDUAL REPORT

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION POLICY

JAPANS OFFICAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO MALAYSIA: GRANT ASSISTANCE FOR GRASSROOTS HUMAN SECURITY PROJECTS

PREPARED BY RAJA KHAIRUL ANUAR BIN RAJA ABD KARIM

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Table of Content

Content Introduction Background of Japan-Malaysia relationship The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). Amount of the GGP aid disbursed for programs in Malaysia (1989-2006) Analysis of The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). Recommendations Conclusion References List of Tables Table 1: Japan's ODA Disbursements to Malaysia (2004-2008) (million USD) Table 2: The GGP aid disbursements to Malaysia (1989-2006) (RM million) Table 3: The GGP aid recipients in Malaysia (1989-2006) Table 4: The GGP aid disbursement based on projects in Malaysia (1989-2006)

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List of Chart Chart 1: The GGP aid disbursement based on projects in Malaysia (1989-2006) List of Appendix Appendix 1: The Flow Chart Of Disbursement Process Of The Grant Assistance For Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Aid 10 6

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Introduction

Foreign aid can be described as one concept that encompasses all official grants and concessional loans, in currency or in kind, that are broadly aimed at transferring resources from developed to less developed nations on development, poverty, or income distribution grounds (Todaro and Smith, 2009). All around the world, foreign aid are being distributed form donor countries to recipient countries in various forms to fulfill various objectives. From sub-Saharan Africa to South Asia, foreign aid whether in the form of loan aid or grant aid have flowed into least developed and developing countries and this flow was driven by many factors. Among the factors are moral and humanitarian objectives, political interest and economic motivation. Japan as one of the member of The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and more specifically a member of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) has also been actively handing out foreign aid to various countries all over the world. Japan however, has a unique history of being an aid recipient country before graduating to a top donor country. Furthermore, Japan has been emphasizing the support for self-help effort where recipient country and its peoples efforts are the most important factor in attaining development while foreign aids role is only to support that goal. The philosophy and basic policies of Japans ODA are clearly and comprehensively stated in Japans ODA charter, first approved in 1992 and later revised in 2003. A new concept for Japans ODA which was established on the 2003 charter was the human security in which to ensure that human dignity is maintained at all stages, from the conflict stage to the reconstruction and development stages, Japan
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will extend assistance for the protection and empowerment of individuals 1. Stewart (2004) described that Human security forms an important part of peoples well-being, and is therefore an objective of development. Under the philosophy of human security, Japan has introduced a special program under its grant aid for Malaysia named the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). Thus, this paper aims to review the implementation of that particular aid program in Malaysia and analyse it in term of the recipients and activities/programs conducted with the grant.

Background of Japan-Malaysia relationship Malaysia started its diplomatic relationship with Japan right after its independence in 1957. Since then, Malaysia-Japan relationship has been a very good and prosperous relationship which benefited both parties in term of economic, cultural and human resource development. The relationship was further

strengthened in 1982 when the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad out of admiration of Japan economic and technological success, launched the Look East Policy .Under the policy, Malaysia tried to emulate the success of Japan and South Korea through replication of good work ethics and management policies. In term of economic relationship, Japan is one of Malaysia largest trade partner where Malaysia 's total trade with Japan has increased significantly from RM60.2 billion in 1994 to RM136.9 billion in 20082. Japan accounts for 11.5 per cent
Revised Japans Official Development Assistance Charter
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Malaysian Ministry Of International Trade and Industrys website

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of Malaysia's global trade in 2008 and second largest trading partner after ASEAN. Malaysia has also been one of the recipient countries of Japans ODA in the form of loan and grant aid. Between 2004 and 2008, the disbursement of Japans ODA to Malaysia amounted to 2.7 billion dollar. Table 1 below shows the disbursement of Japans ODA to Malaysia between 2004 and 2008:Table 1: Japan's ODA Disbursements to Malaysia (2004-2008) (million USD)

2004 Loan Aid Grant Aid 210.7 0.03

2005 -35.68 0.53 33.01 13.11

2006 176.24 0.03 25.43 54.15

2007 196.98 0.28 25.70 79.15

2008 92.27 3.98 21.28 210.7

Total 1260.24 84.9 1387.92 2733.03

Technical 45.77 Cooperation Total 23.94

(Source: Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Japans website)

The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The GGP falls under the category of grant aid. Its disbursement is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan through the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia. The provision of this grant aid enables the Japanese Government to offer financial aid to support the implementation of projects by a variety of organizations such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local government authorities. The GGP differs from the other form of aid by the Japanese government as it is designed to support development projects at grassroots level. The GGP is offered as non refundable grant to eligible recipient to aid the implementation of their development projects. The GGP aid allows the Japanese government to channel its aid towards projects that have direct impact at the grassroots level.
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The GGP is eligible to all non-profit organization in Malaysia. It is a flexible support grant which can be received by any non-profit organization as long as they fulfill the requirement of implementing development projects at the grassroots level. The grant even allows governmental institutions and international organizations to be a recipient of the aid provided they fulfil the objective of grassroots assistance. The flexible nature of the GGP enabled its disbursement to a wide variety of project at grassroots level. However, the majority of the projects approved were under these following areas3: primary health care primary education poverty relief public welfare environment

The Japanese embassy in Malaysia will determine which is the priority area and what are the detailed conditions that need to be fulfilled according to Malaysias development needs before approving the GGP. The GGP grant amount eligible for each project is limited to 100 million yen or RM 3.6 million. However, most of the approved grant amount per project is generally under 10 million yen or RM 360,000.003.The selection of which project to be awarded the GGP aid is based on criteria such as the impact and sustainability of the project and the applicants capability to manage sustainable development projects well.
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Japan Embassy of Malaysias website

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Amount of the GGP aid disbursed for programs in Malaysia (1989-2006) The amount of the GGP aid disbursed for Human Security Projects Programs in Malaysia between the year 1989 to 2006 is as in the following table 2:Table 2: The GGP aid disbursements to Malaysia (1989-2006) (RM million)

Financial Year 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 TOTAL

Number Of Projects 2 7 5 3 3 10 13 11 16 7 6 4 1 1 1 1 1 3 79

Amount (RM) 168,112 1,117,151 308,860 308,271 306,196 1,817,320 1,579,489 1,440,105 1,208,252 794,110 451,419 471,760 107,905 125,888 43,930 41,666 77,500 170,700 8,944,511

(Source: Embassy of Japan in Malaysias website)

Between the year 1989 and 2006, the GGP aid was disbursed for the implementation of 81 grassroots level programs amounting to a total of RM 8.95 million. The recipients of these grant aids varies from NGO, societies and associations, Self Help Groups to Government Institutions. This diverse group of recipients conforms to the flexible nature of the aid itself. The recipients of the GGP aid between 1989 and 2006 according to categories and type of projects is as in the following tables 3 and 4:-

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Table 3: The GGP aid recipients in Malaysia (1989-2006)

Category of Recipients Non-Governmental Organisations Self Help Groups Associations and Societies (including community/village development committee) Institutions of Learning Government Institutions

Number Of Projects 24 4 29

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(Source: Authors own analysis based on data from Japan Embassy Malaysias website)

Table 4: The GGP aid disbursement based on projects in Malaysia (1989-2006)

Category of Project

Number Of Projects 11 5 11 21 31 79

Amount (RM)

Purchase of vehicles, ambulances and wheelchairs Rebuilding fisherman community, culture and fishery Village sanitation and water supply project Clinic, daycare, therapy, rehabilitation and training centre Community education, recycle centre and awareness related project TOTAL

834,020 1,078,696 944,248 2,124,459 3,963,088 8,944,511

(Source: Authors own analysis based on data from Japan Embassy Malaysias website)

Chart 1: The GGP aid disbursement based on projects in Malaysia (1989-2006) Purchase of vehicles, ambulances and wheelchairs 9% Rebuilding fisherman community, culture and fishery 12% Village sanitation and water supply proejct 11%

Community education, recycle centre and awareness related project 44%

Clinic, daycare, therapy, rehabilitation and training centre 24%

(Source: Authors own analysis based on data from Japan Embassy Malaysias website)

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Analysis of The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The amount of disbursed grants under the GGP aid compared to the total Japans ODA to Malaysia every year is quite small. The percentage of GGP aid compared to total ODA for the period between 2004 and 2006 is less than 1% for each year. The number of projects implemented using this grant aid for each year is also quite small with 16 projects as the biggest number implemented in a year. Considering Japans ODA philosophy and charter which emphasizes on self help effort and human security, these figures does not reflect the emphasis. This is something that the Japan government through MOFA and its embassy in Malaysia should ponder as there sure are a lot of eligible recipients and projects in grassroots level that can benefit from the GGP aid. Furthermore, the nature of the projects implemented utilizing the GGP aid is mostly small, one-off project. Thus, it is hard to comprehensively measure the success of such projects.

Recommendations MOFA of Japan through the Japanese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur should increase the awareness of prospective recipients about the availability of this grant aid. This can be achieved with clearer information on the Japanese Embassys website. The information about this grant aid should also be conveyed and shared with The Malaysian Welfare Department as most self help groups, care centers and NGOs for the less fortunate deals a lot with the department and the department have comprehensive information on this segment of the Malaysian Society. Finally, the

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successfully implemented projects under this grant aid should be publicized and made known to the public.

Conclusion The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) aid is an excellent financial assistance scheme provided by the Japan Government which clearly reflects its emphasis on self help effort and human security philosophy. The provision of the GGP aid will enable easier, more direct distribution of aid to eligible recipients to implement their development projects. This aid has a direct impact on the recipients on the grassroots level as there will be no bureaucratic problems and delays. The aid size limitation will allow better manageability and reduce the risk of corruption. However, the number of recipients who have benefited from this grant aid is quite small. This could be caused by the lack of awareness on the availability of this grant aid. The Embassy of Japan in Malaysia should increase the public awareness about the GGP aid so that many more can benefit from this aid and Japan Government can achieve its true intention of ensuring that the assistance actually reaches the people who need it most.

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References

1. Michael P. Todaro and Stephen C. Smith, 2009, Economic Development 10th Edition, New York and London, Pearson education Limited 2. Frances Stewart, "Development and Security", Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security, and Ethnicity (CRISE), Working Paper 3, London: University of Oxford, 2004 3. ODA White Paper 2002, Ministry of Foreign Affair, Japan 4. Ministry of Foreign Affair, Japans website, retrieved at 24th July 2010 (http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/data/pdfs/malaysia.pdf) 5. Japans Official Development Assistance Charter 2003, from MOFA website, retrieved at 24th July 2010 (http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/reform/revision0308.pdf) 6. Embassy Of Japan in Malaysias website, retrieved at 24th July 2010 (http://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/English/ODA/grass_hs2.htm) 7. Ministry Of International Trade and Industry Malaysias website, retrieved at 24th July 2010 (http://www.miti.gov.my/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.section.Section_54 51c5df-c0a8156f-2af82af8-a1ebb9df.)

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Appendix 1 The Flow Chart Of Disbursement Process Of The Grant Assistance For Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Aid

(Source: Embassy of Japan in Malaysias website)

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