Belt-Road plan is good but must be open to all: Malaysian PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 26, 2019, MalayMail. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expressed Malaysia’s full backing for China’s ambitious Belt-Road Initiative today, while attending the Second Belt-Road Forum in Beijing, reported the MalayMail.

He said Malaysia acknowledged that the plan for a modern-day “Silk Road” would bring positive development to the region.

However, Dr Mahathir also stressed that movement along the network must not be restricted and should instead be freely accessible to all.

“An essential element is the freedom of passage along these routes. A passageway is only as good as the freedom it provides,” he said in his speech at one of the forum’s sessions.

Dr Mahathir added that bureaucratic barriers would slow the speed of travel, hence the necessity to ensure free and open passage to all.

“The Belt and Road idea is great, it can bring the land-locked countries of Central Asia closer to the sea. They can grow in wealth and their poverty reduced.

“Everyone will benefit from the ease of travel and communication that the development of the Belt and Road project will bring,” he said.

Yesterday, the prime minister and his delegation had met with Chinese president Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Congress Li Zhanshu, where several major bilateral agreements between the two countries were signed.

By Jerry Choong