Honourable Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang,
Dr. Noor Azmi Ghazali, Deputy Health Minister I and Representative of Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin,
Mr. Liow Tiong Lai, Former Health Minister,
Mr. Selva Mookiah, Representative of Former Health Minister S. Subramaniam,
Venerable Jit Heng, Chairman of Yayasan Kek Lok Si Board of Directors and Chairman of Kek Lok Si Charitable Hospital (KLSCH) Board of Directors,
Venerable Chi Chern, Representative of Malaysian Buddhist Association,
Mr. Steven Ooi, Board Member of KLSCH,
Dr. Teng Hock Nan, Board Member and Medical Superintendent of KLSCH,
Dear guests and friends,
Good morning!
I am very glad to be invited to attend the 130th Anniversary Celebration of Kek Lok Si Temple and the Grand Opening Ceremony of Kek Lok Si Charitable Hospital. First of all, on behalf of the Consulate General of China in Penang, I would like to extend sincere congratulations to this event.
Kek Lok Si Temple has a long history and a grand scale. It is a century-old ancient temple well-known in Southeast Asia, which is featured with the integration of Buddhist culture, beautiful landscapes, and architectural aesthetics. Kek Lok Si Temple hosts Lantern Festival every year during Spring Festival, attracting many local and overseas tourists to visit and pray.
130 years ago, Venerable Beow Lean, an eminent Chinese Buddhist from Fujian, China, propagated Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Inspired by the very simple folk cultures of local people, Venerable Beow Lean proposed the construction of Kek Lok Si Temple to promote the inheritance of Chinese Buddhism in Penang. Over the years, the eminent monks and social elites have made unremitting efforts from generation to generation to enable the Kek Lok Si Temple to continuously expand with the construction of new buildings. The architectural style of the Temple is integrated with diverse cultures, which embodies the inclusiveness and harmony of Buddhism. The Temple has witnessed the inheritance and development of Chinese Buddhist culture outside China.
The completion of the Kek Lok Si Charitable Hospital (KLSCH) is the result of the joint efforts of Yayasan Kek Lok Si (Charity Foundation) and KLSCH Board of Directors as well as the people from all walks of life to promote public welfare and charitable cause, and also reflects every participant and contributor’s spirits of being happy to give. I believe that this kind deed will also inspire more people to participate in and promote public welfare and health charities.
Buddhism is one of the three major religions in the world. It contains concepts of equality, tolerance, harmony, and peace. The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation. The pursuit of peace, harmony, and reconciliation is deeply rooted in the spirit of the Chinese nation and distilled into the lifeblood of the Chinese people. Seeking harmony and coexistence are the essence of Chinese culture.
Dear guests and friends,
The year 2021 is an extraordinary year for China. We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Through continuous struggles, China has realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, brought about a historic resolution to the problem of absolute poverty, and is marching in confident strides toward the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. One of the important experiences learned from the review of the CPC’s historical experience over the past century is that the Party has remained committed to great unity and solidarity, united all forces that can be united, and mobilized all positive factors available, in order to promote harmony between different political parties, ethnic groups, religions, social strata, and compatriots at home and abroad. This has allowed us to pool strength to the greatest extent possible for our common goals.
Harmonious religious relations are conducive to social harmony, ethnic solidarity, the development of human civilization and the progress of the times. China fully implements policies on freedom of religious beliefs, attaches importance to encouraging religious groups including Buddhism to play positive roles, and promotes harmonious religious relations. China upholds the spirit of great unity and solidarity, builds broad consensus, brings together the brightest minds, so that all Chinese people, both at home and overseas, can focus their ingenuity and energy on the same goal and contribute to the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.
China remains committed to the path of peaceful development, and has always been the defender, builder, and contributor to international and regional order. China remains committed to promoting the shared human values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom, and will work to build a new type of international relations and a human community with a shared future. China has actively developed global partnerships. In developing relations with neighboring countries, it applies the principles of amity, sincerity, inclusiveness, mutual benefit, and the policy of promoting friendly and neighborly ties. China endeavors to build a community with a shared future in its neighborhood, and uses its new achievements in development to provide the world with new opportunities, making new, greater contributions to the progress of human civilization.
Lastly, I wish this event a complete success! I wish everyone good health, success in your work, good luck and happiness!
Thank you!