Malaysia, which is benefiting from new chances for growth as a result of its participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, looks forward to learning more from China’s achievements during the last decades, according to Johari bin Abdul, speaker of Malaysia’s Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of parliament.
For Malaysia, a country rich in rivers, the BRI acts as “another river” to enhance transportation and the local economy, according to Johari.
He used the East Coast Rail Link, or ECRL, being built by China Communications Construction Company to make his point.
The more than 600-kilometer railway, which runs along Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast, is a flagship project of BRI collaboration.
The railway is anticipated to connect Port Klang on the west coast with the states of Terengganu, Pahang, and Kelantan.
“The east coast of the peninsula has been comparatively not as advanced as the west coast because of the absence of good roads … With the introduction of the ECRL, we believe there will be more commercial activities and more tourism activities,” Johari said.
The project is now halfway finished, and its completion “will be on time,” the Dewan Rakyat speaker stated in an interview with China Daily during his weeklong visit to China, which ended on Thursday.
Malaysia was one of the first countries to support and join the BRI. Both the first and second Belt and Road Forums for International Cooperation, held in Beijing in 2017 and 2019, were attended by the nation’s prime minister.
Johari informed China Daily that he is optimistic about the future of Malaysia’s connections with China.
Celebrated ties
China and Malaysia are celebrating their 50th year of diplomatic ties this year, and this year is the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic relationship.
“We believe in each other. We trust each other,” Johari emphasised. “That trust grows stronger every day. And we’re not turning back,” Johari said.
He stated that in order to combat climate change, his nation hopes to expand its partnership with China in the field of renewable energy.
Food security, according to Johari, is another area of bilateral collaboration that “could be put high on the agenda.” He also stated that Malaysia anticipates working more closely with China on the advancement of artificial intelligence.
Malaysia is looking forward to developing more future leaders and entrepreneurs in these three industries by sending more students to China to study, he said.
Johari also praised China’s efforts to alleviate extreme poverty. It is “unthinkable” that China managed to bring roughly 800 million people out of poverty in just five decades.
According to Johari, China has shown “a lot of courage” in its attempts to reduce poverty, and its pursuit of balanced growth across many regions is an example that should be studied.