Thorns await Najib in White House Rose Garden

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's meeting with US President Donald Trump next Tuesday is being billed by some as a major public relations coup.

Shaking hands with the most powerful man in the world, no matter how awkward it may be, will send a strong message back home that Najib had committed no wrongdoings, in particular his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

Or at least, that is how the meeting will be portrayed by the local mainstream media.

But the meeting with Trump may not be a walk in the park for Najib. There could be thorns waiting for him at the White House Rose Garden.

The Rose Garden is one of the locations where US presidents hold press conferences when world leaders visit the Oval Office.

While Najib has been successful at dodging unfavourable local and foreign media at home, the prime minister may not find it as easy to evade the White House Press Corps.

Among the corps' members are journalists from New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal - all of which have published articles critical of Najib and his alleged involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

The Washington Post, for example, has published a scathing opinion column on the Najib-Trump meeting, while a Wall Street Journal editorial warned the US president on the risks of meeting a “scandal-tainted leader”.

When Trump and Najib hold a joint press conference after their meeting, these journalists may lob a number of pointed questions at the Malaysian leader.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has alleged that up to US$4.5 billion in 1MDB funds had been stolen and misappropriated.

The allegations include an unnamed Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) receiving US$731 million diverted from 1MDB in his personal bank accounts.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan has since conceded that MO1 is Najib.

While the DOJ's action is civil in nature, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is spearheading a criminal investigation into the matter.

It is speculated that Najib will use his meeting with Trump to try and ease the pressure from both the DOJ and FBI.

But if questions on the matter are asked at the joint press conference following the meeting between the two leaders, it will put the issue again in the international spotlight.

No press conference?

However, Najib may still have luck on his side.

The White House Press Corps' relationship with the Trump administration is not particularly great, with some of the top American news organisations depicted by the president as purveyors of fake news.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has a less-than-friendly relationship with the US media corps.

It is possible that Sanders may favour fielding questions from journalists not likely to ask Najib hard questions, or who will skip Najib entirely and instead ask Trump questions on certain domestic issues.

There is also the possibility that there will be no questions allowed at the press conference.

This break in tradition, where the local and the foreign media delegations get to ask two questions each, occurred during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June.

However, such a move will nevertheless draw unwanted attention to Najib, as every move seen to stifle the White House Press Corps often gets reported in the news.

Najib has thus far not publicly addressed the allegations raised by the DOJ that implicated him.

He has denied misappropriating public funds for personal gain, and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has cleared him of any wrongdoing related to 1MDB. - Mkini