The federal government has always been committed to ensuring the wellbeing of the Chinese community in the country in various aspects of life, including culture, education and economy, Communication and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak said.

He said in education, for example, the government had allocated an annual grant to help Chinese private schools to put them at par with government-aided schools.

In economy, the government had also taken continuous efforts to help the Chinese community, including through the launch of the Secretariat for the Advancement of Malaysian Entrepreneurs (SAME) and the Chinese Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Funding Scheme by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on June 5 last year.

"Through the two programmes, which were introduced to meet the demands of the Chinese community, Malaysia's dream to achieve a high-income economy will come true.

"In fact, the contribution of the Chinese community in national development was indeed significant, especially in economy...Tionghua traders and entrepreneurs have always been among the players in national development," he said at the Kota Belud-level Chinese New Year celebration at SRJK (C) Chung Hwa tonight.

Salleh, who is also Usukan assemblyperson, also urged the people, especially in Kota Belud, to turn the celebration as a bridge of unity to enhance solidarity and mutual understanding for the sake of peace, harmony and prosperity, regardless of race, ethnic and religion.

- Bernama