A second sister city for PJ

Marking the link: Roslan (left) presenting a set of CD and book on Petaling Jaya to Isao after both mayors inked the sister cities agreement.

MAYOR Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman signed a letter of intent with Miyoshi City in Saitama region in Tokyo, Japan to become Petaling Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) newest sister city.

The agreement was inked by Roslan and Miyoshi City mayor Hayashi Isao.

To mark the event, Isao planted a local tree species called Petaling tree at Taman Rusa in front of the MBPJ headquarters.

Miyoshi becomes PJ’s second sister city after Bandung in West Java, Indonesia.

“It’s a historic moment as we have connected Miyoshi and PJ in friendship,” said Roslan.

He added that with a growing population of Japanese families living in high-end neighbourhoods in PJ, it was timely for PJ to foster ties of friendship with cities in the Land of the Rising Sun.

“Our agreement with Miyoshi is to create new opportunities for PJ citizens and businesses to establish a link with the east.

“We understand that Miyoshi wants to exchange ideas on technology and we will see how best we can link local companies for partnerships,” he said.

Isao said Miyoshi city, with a 200,000-strong population, strives to build cooperation at city council-level with the aim to stimulate economic development and exchange ideas on improving technologies.

“PJ is a beautiful city with a lot of trees. It is good to see a garden in front of the city’s headquarters.

“I’ve planted a tree here and I hope to return to PJ in the near future to see the tree. People here are friendly and we hope more Japanese university students will travel here to gain some knowledge,” he said.

Isao headed a delegation of eight that included his wife Chi Sato Hayashi.