Malaysian official: Beijing 2022, universal friendship through sports

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Winter Olympics are the culmination of a global consensus for unity and togetherness, according to a Malaysian official.

The Winter Olympics embodies the desire of all people to come together with a vision of achieving more, to be higher, faster and stronger, Senate Council president Khairudin E.S Abd Samad said in a letter to local daily Sinar Harian on Thursday.

"From differences in economic development to lifestyles and religious beliefs, people may have different choices but it is not difficult to get the same global consensus on the quest for a better and better life," he said.

"Political differences should be resolved through dialogue and competition itself should not be the stage for political presentation skills," he said in response to those attempting to stir up negative sentiments towards China over the games.

Khairudin reaffirmed that the bond between Malaysia and China is inseparable, and pointed to the fact that Malaysia has supported China's hosting of the games from day one, in 2015 when the 128th International Olympic Committee meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur, where Beijing won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

He said that this move was in line with the strong exchanges between both countries, whether at the government-to-government level or in business and people-to-people ties.

"As a Malaysian who has witnessed pleasant exchanges between the two countries for a long time, I can tell everyone in a responsible way that bilateral exchanges between Malaysia and China are in Malaysia's best interest," he said.

"As the Senate Council president under the leadership of the President of the Dewan Negara, Tan Sri Rais Yatim, I hope that the Beijing Winter Olympics will be a success and that the friendship between Malaysia and China will last forever," he said.