BS excuse. Malays consist a large part of the minority yet Malaysia is way more pro-China.
It's actually more complicated than that. Malaysian Chinese are treated as second class citizens, while Singaporean Chinese are regular citizens in their own nation. Without going through a racial struggle, it is only human nature to lack appreciation for China's rise. Furthermore Singapore is an internationalized metropolitan city state, so this creates a sense of elitism amongst people who gravitate to the West.
Malaysia's pro-China sentiment is rather complicated. The current ruling establishment, and the rural communities of Malaysian Chinese are quite pro-China. However, there is still that majority Malay population who are mostly anti-Chinese, and by extension, anti-China. There is also a large percentage of urban Malaysian Chinese who are boba liberals and bananas. The NED is hard at work, spreading its influence in Malaysia. It's in the media, politics, NGOs, and even places of worship. I can go on and on about this, but the jist is that Malaysia is doing a terrible job of keeping the CIA and NED out.
I do hope I'm wrong on this. But I feel that Malaysia is one election away from turning into a Malay Muslim Hindutva-style state. The Malay Muslim majority, especially the youths are mostly in favour of an Islamist political party called PAS. That party used to have decent leaders, but today it is dominated by demagogues and bigots. Don't let the pro-Palestine sentiment fool you, these people equally hate China for being communist and Chinese. If these people win the next election, then Sino-Malaysia relations is gonna stall again.
If China is looking for friends, it is better off working with Indonesia and nations in Indochina. Malaysia and Singapore are just too fickle-minded. They should be treated as business clients, nothing more.