Malaysian PM says "future would be bleak without Chinese community's support"

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Tuesday that there would be a bleak future for the country without the Chinese community's support.

Malaysia would also clearly fall short of reaching the goals of becoming a developed nation by 2020, said Najib, whose speech was delivered by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin at the Second World Chinese Economic Forum on Tuesday.

Najib said Chinese descendants could be found in all continents, where Chinese worked as successful entrepreneurs, professionals, government officials and academic scholars in their adopted countries.

Clearly, they had contributed much to their countries of citizenship, said Najib, noting that the Malaysian Chinese community continued to form the backbone of the Malaysian economy through the small- and medium-enterprises.

Recognizing the Chinese contribution towards nation building, Najib said the country would not be what it is today without the industry, expertise and dedication of the Chinese community.

Malaysia is a country made up of three main races, namely the Malay, Chinese and Indian. Of the 28 million population, about 7 million are Chinese.

"Malaysia's ties to China go back centuries. Admiral Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty visited Malacca, one of the busiest trading ports in the world more than 600 years ago," said Najib, adding that the visit had sparked six centuries of deep cultural ties.


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