Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker. -filepic
PETALING JAYA: The government’s task in eradicating poverty and uplifting the economy to improve the people’s livelihood never ends, says Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker.
The Deputy National Unity Minister said the government’s work is not done because the Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected the country’s economic situation.
“For Malaysia, decades of pragmatic and targeted approaches have helped us uplift the economy and bring people out of poverty.
“However, the outbreak of the pandemic last year had pushed us back to the drawing board, as the economic landscape of the country was severely affected by closures, suspension of trade, pull back of investments, and heavy job losses.
“Poverty eradication and the task of providing good livelihoods to our people never ends, ” he said at the virtual thematic briefing by the Communist Party of China central committee’s International Department (IDCPC) on Tuesday (Feb 23).
Also present at the briefing were IDCPC Minister Song Tao and CPC central committee political bureau member Chen Quan Guo.
During the briefing, Ti congratulated CPC and its leadership for successfully uplifting over 100 million people out of poverty within a period of eight years.
“It is indeed a daunting but enormous feat that required absolute focus on the part of the central and provisional leadership, as well as well-coordinated implementation and roll-out of programmes.
“Like China, our work is not done, ” he added.
Malaysia, said Ti, is a progressive country with strong economic fundamentals waiting to return as the Asian Tiger.
“We will not be doing this alone and Malaysia is moving ahead with great hope to work with neighbours and strategic partners to grow this country.
“The MCA is proud to have played an active role in keeping the Malaysia-China relationship strong over the past four decades, and rest assured, we will continue to do so to help our nations prosper together, ” he said.
Ti, who is also MCA vice-president, noted that Malaysia’s multi-ethnic social fabric has been weaved through years of accommodation, tolerance and respect.
“Malaysians have been proud and unapologetic of their cultural and ethnic identities. It is precisely these that have allowed us to live as one, in spite of differences.
“The Malaysian story is one that included rapid expansion of the economy driven by opportunities for high-income employment in the urban areas, and the modernisation of the agriculture sector.
“This modernisation and progress would not have been possible without a stable government under the Barisan Nasional coalition that ensured unity and harmony prevail, ” he said.
Ti noted that from the beginning, Barisan was the “magic political formula” for multi-ethnic and multi-religious people to co-exist, as power-sharing, mutual respect, and every ethnic group represented at one or another level of government helped maintain an equilibrium in the society.
“As the second-largest component party in Barisan, the MCA played a key role as the moderator and also internal check and balance, especially at a time when race and religion increasingly came into the fore of Malaysian national politics.
“Over the decades, MCA did its part to keep the administration on its track of moderation, respecting diversity and protection of minority interests.
“Standing firmly by the principles of the Federal Constitution, MCA was able to defeat all attempts to disrupt peace and harmony in this country, ” he said.
Following the sad episode of racial unrest in 1969, Ti said the then Barisan government led by Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysia's second prime minister, endorsed a national aspiration which we now call the Rukun Negara.
“The guiding principles in the Rukun Negara encompass the essence of unity, freedom and justice that has until this day become the bedrock of the country’s unity.
“The National Unity Blueprint 2021-2030 launched by our Prime Minister on Feb 15 is thus a renewal of the government’s commitment and plan to forge greater integration of our people, ” he added.
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