BEIJING: China-Malaysia cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) helps to accelerate Malaysia’s economic development and progress, said Johari bin Abdul, the Speaker of Malaysia’s Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of parliament.
The Belt and Road projects in Malaysia, such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the “Two Countries, Twin Parks,” have achieved good economic and social effects, creating jobs and promoting connectivity, said Johari, who is on a visit to China from Friday to Thursday, in an interview with Xinhua.
“The east coast in Malaysia has been an almost forgotten region because of the accessibility. By the coming of the ECRL, we will herald a new dawn into the East Coast, an area rich with culture and natural beauty,” said Johari, adding that the BRI project boosts development along the ECRL with great potentials to tap.
The ECRL project involves constructing 40 tunnels from Kelantan to Selangor. The rail link is expected to greatly enhance connectivity and bring more balanced growth to the country by linking its less-developed region on the east coast to the economic heartland on the west coast.
Noting that next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China, Johari said the two sides should foster stronger connection and relationship. “I believe the frequent high-level exchanges between the two countries in a very short time would affirm that our relationship should become even closer.”
Johari said a large number of Malaysian citizens are of Chinese origin and “they assimilated well with the local culture and contributed a lot in terms of commerce, innovation and education.” He stressed the importance of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
Congratulating China on holding a magnificent opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Johari said it’s “a combination of courage, intelligence and innovation and a symbol of success.”
“I believe this takes a lot of courage, practice, discipline and plenty of ideas. At the end of day, it’s the potential that China has unleashed to the world.”
The green concept that runs through the games has also impressed Johari deeply. “What the Chinese are doing is purely investing so that the planet will be a different planet. Altogether, we got to save the planet,” he said, the Malaysians support the idea and that’s why Malaysia is seeking to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
