KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai today lauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s push for closer ties with China at the party’s annual general assembly here, calling the move necessary for greater development.

Speaking before a group of Chinese delegation here, Liow said Najib is laying the foundation for stronger economic growth after he secured deals worth RM144 billion from the communist republic, claiming this would provide the local Chinese community business opportunities.

"As MCA strengthens its international footprint, and on behalf of the party, we would like to congratulate you and honour you in positioning Malaysia internationally,” Liow said in his opening speech.

"As we all know, the Prime Minister’s engagement with China was a resounding success in terms of government to government, business to business and even more importantly, people to people.

"Fellow delegates, I urge your constituents, grassroots and the rakyat to seize the opportunities that will certainly become a reality as China’s foreign direct investment in Malaysia rolls out,” he added.

Liow noted that it was Najib’s father, Malaysia’s second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak, who first saw the importance of establishing ties with China at the height of the Cold War.

The MCA president said the legacy left by Razak had provided a "paradigm shift” to drive economic growth alongside China.

"The special bond created by your late father is the platform for us to entrench this paradigm shift to drive economic growth with China,” Liow said.

"Clearly both our nations have a high level of political confidence for each other.

"The investment that we can look forward to covers a wide range of areas which includes railway, ports, gas pipelines, e-commerce, and massive infrastructure projects”.

The Najib government’s close bilateral ties with China have come under strong criticism by the opposition who claimed Malaysia was being sold off to the communist republic.

Najib dismissed the allegation as lies, saying the 14 business to business Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and agreements, besides an additional 16 government to government MOUs and agreements, were an investment in Malaysia’s economy and would result in jobs, skills and improvement in people’s lives.

Liow said the attacks were politically motivated aimed at confusing voters.

"Without a doubt, our political opponents are jealous of the results being achieved by Barisan Nasional to bring in FDI from China.

"That is why, my fellow delegates, we must inform our constituents of the magnitude of progress that will take place due to the China engagement,” he said.