Prove friendship with Trump, Syed Saddiq tells Najib

Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said today that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should use his good ties with US president Donald Trump to express his objection towards the latter’s recognition of Jerusalem as the new capital of Israel.

Syed Saddiq, who earlier led a Harapan Youth delegation to submit a protest memorandum to the United States' embassy in Kuala Lumpur, pointed out that Najib himself had previously described Trump as a friend.

He noted that some people claimed that Najib had a “direct line” to contact Trump.

"By right if this close relationship is true, Datuk Seri Najib should use his good ties with Trump to put pressure on him to withdraw the statement (on recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital) and ensure that we can all unite to save the Muslims in Palestine," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

"If he (Najib) is really close and has influence on him (Trump), this is the time to use it," said Syed Saddiq, who was joined by other Harapan Youth and Harapan central leaders (photo).

Last month, Najib had tweeted a photograph of himself and Trump which had been taken at the Asean-US 40th anniversary commemorative summit in Manila, and captioned it: "Good to see my friend again".

Trump reversed decades of US policy on Wednesday by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, disrupting Middle East peace efforts and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies alike.

The status of Jerusalem - home to Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy sites - is one of the biggest obstacles to reaching a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine.

DAP Youth exco member Muhammad Shakir Ameer similarly claimed that Najib had "bragged" about his relationship with Trump.

"So this is when he should use his bragging rights and his relationship, direct relationship with Donald Trump, to let him know Malaysia's stand," he said.

"This (the recognition) is dangerous for everyone. Not only Muslims, but everybody," he stressed.

PKR youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, meanwhile, added that their memorandum was received by an embassy officer who also agreed to hold a discussion on the issue. 

Also present was Amanah Youth chief Mohd Sany Hamzan and other Bersatu Youth exco members. 

Najib in his presidential speech at the Umno General Assembly had yesterday rallied Muslims worldwide to strongly oppose any recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.- Mkini