Malaysians Choose ‘Road’ as Chinese Character of the Year

The Malaysian people have chosen "路" ， or "Road" in English， as the Chinese character of the year in 2017， drawing inspiration from the country's active plans in infrastructure expansion.

According to the results released on Dec. 10 by Malaysia's Han Culture Center and the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia （FCAM）， "Road" garnered 28，887 votes， accounting for 30.45 percent of the total.

Pheng Yin Huah， president of FCAM， said the character "Road" perfectly summed up how the Malaysian people felt about this year. He referred to the launch of several lines of the Mass Rapid Transit system and the beginning of construction work on the East Coast Rail Link， a major project linking the western part of the Malaysian Peninsula with the east coast， as well as the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail project.

The selection of "Road" not only reflected people's better understanding of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative， but also embodies people's expectation to lead a better life， Pheng said.

Malaysia is one of several Asian countries and regions to select a Chinese character each year. About 24 percent of the Malaysian people belong to Malaysia's Chinese community. Though most of the votes are from them， the organizers say more and more Malay and Indian people are beginning to participate.