"Hello, Selamat Pagi, Ni hao, Vanakkam," these are the four different greetings I speak to people every morning I get out of my house in Malaysia. As one of the 6.7 million ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, I'm most proud of our multiculturalism environment of all things. I was raised culturally Chinese by my grandparents, but whenever I go out of the doorstep of my house, I feel very multicultural. This is the beauty of my country and one of the very few in the world that allows me to co-exist with many different cultures. 

My grandparents were born in China where they lived a life of traditional southern Chinese culture and lifestyle which continued even after they arrived in Malaysia. They passed down Chinese culture and values to my generation, which helps me to have zero communication errors with Chinese people globally.

As an overseas ethnic Chinese, I totally understand the global values that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)  represents. When I saw the opportunities that are laid under the BRI, I am one out of the many who provide overwhelming response and participation, because of its enormous potentials and endless possibilities. 

As of this writing, I hold my head high and feel humbled to be in China to connect the dots between my home country and my grandparents' ancestry home. Let me break down my Belt and Road ambition and experience.

In 2017, I co-founded a sports-based social enterprise named Crowdsukan in Malaysia, an initiative aimed to solve sports infrastructure and funding problems from the ground, after I was inspired by some small kids in a rural village in China sharing a pool table publicly on the streets that their community had crowdfunded, without fearing that someone would steal it. 

It got me thinking, my dream in the Belt and Road is not only to support the ambition but to form the dots and connect them in making more of these pool tables possible, to create these environments and a shared future that we trust, help build each other and enjoy the fruits out of it.

Shortly after I put my idea into practice in September 2017, my idea and this particular travel story from China got me selected to participate in a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisations (UNESCO) Youth and Sport program held in Manila, Philippines, in which my focus on improving existing and building crucial sports infrastructures has earned international recognition. 

Subsequently, from January 2018, I was appointed as a member and Malaysian representative to the prestigious UNESCO Youth and Sport Task Force, comprises of the very best sports leaders in the region.

As a sports social entrepreneur, I strongly believe in the untapped potential in sports for community building, nation building, youth empowerment, economic empowerment and above all, a united Belt and Road nations' youth. Sports don't discriminate, sports unite, and bring people together even in times of conflicts. Let us not forget it was sports that opened up China's relations with the United States through ping pong diplomacy and last year, the Winter Olympics helped bring the two Koreas closer together for the first time in a very long time.

Today, I feel very humbled to be in China with the relevant stakeholders proposing a grand idea of the Belt and Road having more sports event interaction and investment between nations to make sports an even bigger priority in its people-to-people ties development.

I urge all who believe in the enormous potential of sports to join me, reach out to me, and work with me to connect the dots of this young Malaysian to form an non-political, cross-cultural sports movement to unite the Belt and Road nations' youth for a more peaceful, healthy and prosperous future together. If we don't act now, then who would?

Had it not been my travel experience in China that coincidentally exposed me to sports, I might never in the wildest dream of my life imagine myself to be a leader in sports development in Southeast Asia where many great Belt and Road nations are. I believe this destiny that I shared with China will continue to progressively define my future. My vision of the Belt and Road, it starts with sports!