Tuesday September 18, 2012

We can learn much from Malaysian racial harmony, says NY politician

NEW YORK: The United States can learn a lot from the “exemplary” racial harmony in Malaysia, said a New York City politician.

Taiwan-born John Liu, who is New York City comptroller, said he was looking forward to visiting Malaysia, whose multi-racial harmony was unique in the world.

“Malaysia's racial and religious harmony is exemplary. Indeed, we in the US can learn a lot from Malaysia's harmonious racial co-existence,” he said in an interview during a dinner hosted by the Malaysian Association of America on Saturday.

John Liu: Taiwan-born Liu is the first Asian- American elected to public office in New York City.

The dinner was held in conjunction with both the association's 28th anniversary and Merdeka Day.

Liu said his visit would focus on fostering closer economic and business ties not only between Malaysia and New York City but also between Malaysia and the country.

“We would like to promote investments to and from Malaysia,” he said, adding that the specific areas of business would be identified soon.

Although details of his visit had yet to be finalised, Liu, who is popular among the increasingly influential Asian constituency of New York, said he hoped that it would take place soon.

During the dinner, he also handed over commendation plaques to two Malaysians in New York City for their “outstanding contributions” to fostering closer ties between the city and Malaysia.

The two were Salahuddin Mohd Ariffin, vice-president of the New York office of Tourism Malaysia, and association chairman Kim Bong.

Malaysia's consul-general in New York Syed Bakri Syed Abdulrahman said the association had been “very helpful” in reaching out to the Malaysian community.

“A representative is at the consulate to help Malaysian applicants who encounter language or other problems while seeking consular services,” he said. - Bernama

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