Malaysians must come together as a united rakyat to build a moderate, tolerant and forward-thinking society, accept and respect each other's right, beliefs and traditions, said MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

In his Chinese New Year message Wednesday, he described Malaysia's multiculturalism as one of the nation's greatest strengths, hence MCA's unwavering commitment to protecting its fabric of social harmony.

"As we look ahead, managing rising costs of living as a result of economic challenges will be a key agenda in 2017.

"The Barisan Nasional (BN) Government is focused on supporting the rakyat through various initiatives such as through funding allocations to lend aid to the bottom 40 percent (B40) income group which was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during Budget 2017," he said.

Beyond that, he said, MCA was driven to ensure that the needs of the community were met, "from providing easy access to quality education through our undertakings such as Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), to lending financial support to entrepreneurs via the Koperasi Jayadiri Malaysia (Kojadi) small and medium enterprise (SME) Loan Scheme".

"We fully believe that these initiatives will ultimately lead to strengthening our nation and economy. This is why MCA continues to work hard to improve the welfare and well-being of the rakyat.

"Moreover, given the importance of foreign direct investments into the economy, MCA is glad to have played a vital role in helping to bring about a fresh influx of investments from China, the world's second largest economy," he said.

Liow said the opportunities from the investments would certainly boost the nation's economic growth, that the transport sector would undoubtedly benefit from China's expertise, particularly in terms of railway projects such as the East Coast Rail Line, which was set to be a game changer as it would greatly enhance connectivity between the east and west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Meanwhile Liow who is also Transport Minister said the ministry would also continue to strengthen Malaysia's logistics industry under the national Logistics Trade Masterplan as it strived to transform Malaysia into a logistics hub in ASEAN.

"These initiatives will immensely benefit both our nation and the Rakyat, and the BN Government is committed to seeing them through to fruition," he said.

He concluded his Chinese New Year message by urging the rakyat to stand firm against extremism and divisive elements.

"Let us work together to fulfil our roles as open-minded, understanding and resilient Malaysians. To those travelling over the long weekend, do drive safe and remember to stop for breaks if you are feeling tired on the road," Liow said.

Gong Xi Fa Cai, and best wishes for prosperity and health to all, he said. - Bernama