KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik played a pivotal role in laying the foundations for today’s strong Malaysia-China relations, says China's ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.
Ouyang said Ling’s contributions, particularly during his tenure as transport minister, helped open new avenues of cooperation between the two countries.
“Dr Ling’s life was an extraordinary one. His impact can be seen in several areas, but from our perspective, his contribution to Malaysia-China relations was especially significant,” he said after paying his last respects at Ling’s wake on Tuesday (April 7).
Ouyang noted that Ling had been instrumental in advancing cooperation in the transport sector, including through the signing of several key bilateral legal instruments.
“These efforts were pioneering and open in nature. They laid a very solid foundation for the cooperation we see today across various sectors between our two countries.
“Any great undertaking is built up generation by generation. The groundwork laid at that time made possible the vigorous development of Malaysia-China relations that we are witnessing today,” he added.
The envoy said the Chinese embassy was “truly grateful” for Ling’s contributions.
“From the perspective of the Chinese embassy, we are deeply thankful for what Ling has done. His work continues to inspire us to do our part even better in this new era,” he said.
Ouyang, who had multiple interactions with Ling during his posting in Malaysia, described him as a principled and selfless leader.
“In my term of office, I met Ling many times. He was very honest, very sincere and very upright.
“His spirit of being selfless, always doing his utmost to contribute to society, left a deep impression on us,” he added.
Beyond government-to-government ties, Ouyang said Ling had also made “outstanding contributions” to the Chinese community, Chinese education and Malaysian society at large, which in turn strengthened people-to-people links between Malaysia and China.
He said Ling would occasionally offer constructive views and suggestions on ways to further enhance Malaysia-China cooperation.
“He was very engaged, including in specific education projects, and he sometimes shared very good ideas on bilateral cooperation. We listened carefully and took many of these views on board,” Ouyang said.
With Malaysia-China relations now at what both sides describe as a historic high, Ouyang said Ling’s legacy remained highly relevant.
“We hope the spirit embodied by Dr Ling will live on in Malaysian society. We will also do our best to carry forward this spirit,” he said.
“In this new period, as Malaysia and China look ahead to another promising 50 years together, we must build on this legacy so that our relations can bear more fruitful results and achieve even greater progress,” he added.
