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Call on Najib to appear before Parliament when he returns to face MPs on his visit to United States

I have received the following assessment of a Malaysian in Washington on the visit of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, which raises many important questions.

The following is the assessment:

Assessment of a Malaysian in Washington on Najib’s visit to US

It is difficult indeed to make any serious assessment as there has been hardly anything substantive on the subject in the US media. All we have is what the Malaysian media are reporting. That said let me share some thoughts for what they are worth.

My reading is that much is being made of this visit. First and foremost, the Ambassador aided and abetted by the Malaysian media that is in tow, is painting a picture that is very sparing of the truth. For instance, they have made out that Najib was only one of two Asian leaders that met with Obama – the other being Hu Jintao. The truth was that Manmohan Singh and Gilani, the PMs of India and Pakistan , were there individually for sessions of between an hour and half and two. It would appear the Malaysian spinmeisters have redefined the borders of Asia in a revision of geography with the sub-continent not being part of Asia. Perhaps this is the input provided by the experts of APCO! Then there is the business of lunch with Vice President Biden – if our news media are to be believed, then Najib was the sole guest. The truth is stranger as he was one of a dozen leaders who lunched at the VP’s residence according to the NY Times.

As to the substance of the chat between Obama and Najib, the Readout issued by the White House is a pretty good summary according to those in the know. I have yet to see it reproduced in the Malaysian media. A close reading indicates that Najib virtually gave away the store with nothing substantive in return. For instance, he agreed with the US position as regards the need to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Remarkable indeed given that our Ambassador in Vienna was one of 5 that voted in favor of the Iranian position just a few months ago. This is a major shift in policy and it disassociates Malaysia from its conventional OIC and NAM position. Then there is the business of the Strategic Goods Act which was rushed through Parliament. This was under considerable pressure from the US after Malaysia stood exposed for trading in embargoed goods with Iran. Najib was also forced into admitting that Malaysia was taking action to curb human trafficking after having been listed in a recent Senate report that heavily criticized Malaysia. In terms of Malaysian aspirations and support for its positions, little was reported. For instance, no mention was made of the desire to revive the failed Free Trade Agreement; nor was there even a token mention of the Palestine issue, a subject close to the heart of the Government. Were these issues raised? Significantly, neither the Embassy in Washington DC and nor the entourage accompanying the PM have yet put out a Malaysian version of the Readout. They have been largely concerned with issuing feel good releases with photos without addressing the substantive outcomes of this multi-million dollar junket.

Beyond what is contained in the White House Readout, I gather that the US side raised a number of issues including the canning of women who deviate from Islamic practices, growing racial polarization, the Anwar trial etc. Thus, the Malaysian side has been put on notice.

An overview — this was probably a good visit from Najib’s personal view as it raised his profile. He is seeking legitimacy as he struggles in the domestic context against a resilient opposition, a badly split coalition and a party that is increasingly turning right, led in that direction by Dr. M. The visit may gain him some personal momentary advantage. However it does not resolve the critical challenges he faces. More fundamentally, the visit demonstrated the lack of leverage he has at his disposal. He appears to have obtained nothing of substance from the US administration; this in turn will signal the US business community which will take note and act negatively in taking investment decisions in the near term.

Let wait to see if this assessment will be contradicted in the days ahead.

In view of many important issues involved, including those of policy and principle, I call on the Prime Minister to appear before Parliament when he returns to face MPs on his visit to United States to give full accounting of the results of his trip.

32 Replies to “Call on Najib to appear before Parliament when he returns to face MPs on his visit to United States”

  1. Great piece of news to expose the half truths…the spinning and twisting…UMNO is famous for.
    hahahahahahaha…..I like best…US Vice President Biden invites Najib to dinner…when in fact… invitations are for all visiting dignitaries….making Najib…only a small fry amongst the huge crowd.
    How the can spin the facts to be so idiotic.

  3. YB

    RM 76.8/24.2 translates as an exchange rate of appx. 3.17. However, for most of 2009, it was closer to 3.50 and the rate at 31st December 2009 was 3.42.

    So, the true cost of APCO’s whopping jaw dropping whack on the poor M’sian Rakyat is likely to be closer to RM 80-85 million!! And remember that Mahathir only paid RM7.6 million to the criminal jewish lobbyist Jack Abramoff so he could go kiss Bush’s ass way back in 2000.

    By comparison, Najib’s and APCO’s whack of
    RM 80-85 million seems way, way over the top. Did APCO have to make “contributions” or “donations” to Obama’s Democratic Party and if so, how much is being hidden under “other costs” in APCO’s invoices? It may all come out soon in a USA Senate or Congressional hearing and embarass the whole nation i.e. Malaysia!!

    Please table a question to that foot-in-mouth Minister what the actual the bank transfer cost the Govt and whether the meter has stopped running.

    More than that, please demand to know what our embassy/consulate in Washington has been doing all these years that we need to engage a foreign spindoctoring outfit to the tune of RM80-85 million for a dinner and photoshoot junket with Joe Biden and Obama? Everything else about Najib “advising” Obama on WMD’s, nuclear strategy etc., is a smokescreen and red herring!

    Also, was any commission/fee paid to any other local consulting co in engaging APCO and if so, who and how much?

    Lastly, Nazri asked if a local outfit could do what APCO is said to have done. Did the Govt/Najib send out an RFP to ask local PR companies if they had the expertise and connections?

    We the Rakyat demand answers to all the questions above!!

    dpp
    We are all of 1 race, the Human Race

  4. In the first place WHO thought spinning publicity from the corridors of Washington or business community in the US is a great idea within the current political challenges faced by BN right now? Mahathir did a disastrous thing with Jack Abramoff and it never really paid off. Who thought this is all a good idea? How could it be?

    The US is facing huge domestic and foreign challenges that even though they have one of the smartest president ever to hold office grasping for resources to deal with their own issues. Who in god world think it was a good idea to try and manipulate a bunch of people, big and important they may be, who are deluged by things they have to do with a deficit of tools and resources?

  8. In bolehland umno is good only in buying seats. Buy seat to go to space. Buy seat to meet bush and Obama. Buy seat to be in F1. Buy seat from the froggies.

    Merits? No need. That can be bought too. Hard work? No need. Can be bought as well. Integrity? $crew integrity. No such word. Image? Already paid 75millon to apco for it.

  9. Land of Bodoh, full of unemployable graduates.
    Birth-place of famous terrorist
    Murder of Mongolian beauty usingC4
    Murder of TBH, Kugan, etc
    APCO , waste of fund
    Submarine involve big commision, but cannot dive,
    And all kinds of nonsense created by HP6 ministers

  11. Obama is strongly American First not Black First.How about Nijib is he Malaysian First or Malay First.Do you think the American can accept the race discrimination policy of Malaisie ?.You are just small fry to them busy doing your promotions in their country.

  15. Yes,yes,disneyland any land in US.And of course front yardland in pond of president Obama’s resident while major meetings are being held..Ya,ya,ya,maybe also bohsialand=hookerland and come back to be punished by LKS to be boh.land=no style(glamourland)

  18. Two lost way frogs:Who cares.A frog is a frog,if i could jump all over malaysia why not in america!?Money!Money! is more important than my race,religion and nation that can eternally(insya.allah)give me the plessure.WHO CARES!

  19. Aiyah YB Lim, give him a chance mah. He must be in awe in the company of the President that he forgot to discuss those things you mentioned. Well, it was a good photo opportunity, so let him enjoy it. After all a good bilateral relationship will augur well for all.

  20. How come that guy from Sabah who previously remarked about DPM post being lucrative, is not in the entourage?

    How come jib did not invite any representatives from the two partners, Sabah and Sarawak?

  21. Jibby talked tough about the west in the comfort of his serfs, then turned star-strucked in the shadows of obama n heavyweights on the global stage. the guy was practically drooling and gaga-eyed.

  23. D best mesej d rakyat can send 2 NR n his band of anti-M’sian racists is 2 VOTE 4 PR candidates in d coming two by-elections
    Hopefully more parliamentary n state seats held by BN politicians n Ex-PR toads will b vacant soon – we want more bye-bye elections, comprendez

  24. who is obama that we malaysian taxpayers are paying our pm to see him in person?

    have not we forgotten what is washington’s role in the middle east?

    are we losing direction in international politics? what is our future role in nam and oic? are we becoming a country of no principles?

  26. Yeah sheriff’s right. Wot did de 2 frogs do in washington? Maybe giving chengho a sec by sec account and update on jib’s “fantastic” – no “extra-ordinary” – success in america. Umno really ought to nominate chengho for hulu selangor, make his a minister and let him accompany jib everywhere.

  28. They talked religion,fidelity and unity first in the OIC and accused all unbelievers as infidel but funny thing is they seem so proud to be sitting next to the world’s most infidel president even to the insulting extend by paying an infidel public relation firm just to see him.Another pretty good example of hypocrisy of the highest.

  30. Obama is probably the worst President of the USA. He is a liar, he promised to pull out of Iraq if he is elected but instead more troops were sent to fight and prolong the war, Americans will tell you he broke almost all of his promises made during his presidency campaign.

  32. Correction!!
    US government is most corrupted ..YES…just like UMNO BARU government is..most corrupted..right now..in Asia.
    But the people of America and Malaysia…are largely..not corrupted.
    And Americans are one up against Malaysians..right now…hungry for changes for the better…and getting rid of racial discrimination completely.
    Freedom of speeches and rights are famous in America.
    So you can say…US government maybe most corrupted…but at least they love freedom and unity while Malaysian government loves to divide and rule.
    Therefore …you can say Malaysian government is most corrupted and cruel too..to keep fooling the citizens. Americans cannot be easily fooled.

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