Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will reportedly meet US president Donald Trump in Washington next month.
This was according to a White House official and several people in Malaysia who is familiar with plans for the trip, reported the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The report noted that Najib had been eager to emphasise his friendship with Trump amid the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
"People close to Mr Najib say he would likely use the White House visit to try to play down the possibility of further investigations," said the Wall Street Journal.
The report said a spokesperson for Najib declined to comment on the upcoming trip.
Malaysiakini is unable to independently verify the report.
On August 8, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had visited Malaysia, where he also met with Najib.
The DOJ on August 11 filed to stay its civil forfeiture suit in relation to assets allegedly acquired using stolen 1MDB funds.
The department cited that the civil forfeiture action could potentially interfere in a parallel criminal case in relation to the 1MDB scandal.
Najib's reported plans to visit the US comes amid rumours that China president Xi Jinping will be visiting Malaysia at the end of the year.
However, whether China's planned visit will happen or not remains uncertain.
Since the US probe into 1MDB, Najib appeared to have pivoted towards China.
During his visit to China in November last year, Najib in a commentary in China Daily lashed out at what he described were "former colonial powers".
"More generally, we believe it is incumbent upon larger countries to treat smaller ones fairly. And this includes former colonial powers. It is not for them to lecture countries they once exploited on how to conduct their own internal affairs today," wrote Najib.
However, Najib's move to terminate the sale of a 60 percent stake to a consortium comprising Iskandar Waterfront Holdings and China state-owned company China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) had reported caused unhappiness in Beijing.
The Bandar Malaysia project is now being re-tendered in search of a new master developer. -Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.