President Obama Visit Malaysia 26-28 April 2014

Obama lands in Malaysia, chased by foreign policy woes

 


KUALA LUMPUR - Barack Obama arrived in Malaysia on Saturday hoping to energize relations with the predominantly Muslim country and re-focus a four-nation Asian tour repeatedly distracted by foreign-policy crises elsewhere.

Obama became the first serving US president to visit Malaysia since Lyndon Johnson in 1966 as he tours Asia to underscore his "rebalance" of  US attention toward the strategic Asia-Pacific and push a stalled regional trade pact. But hotspots elsewhere in the world have repeatedly intruded.


In earlier visits to allies Japan and South Korea, the US leader was forced to deal with the spiraling confrontation with Russia in Ukraine, a faltering Middle East peace process, and perennial bugbear North Korea. In South Korea on Saturday, Obama called North Korea a "pariah state" after satellite images suggested it was preparing for its fourth atomic weapons test despite a ban by the international community. Just hours earlier, North Korean state media claimed authorities
there were holding a young US citizen because of "rash behaviour" while
passing through immigration.


- 'Pariah state' -


Obama called the tense 38th parallel dividing North and South a border "between a democracy that is growing and a pariah state that  would rather starve its people than feed their hopes and dreams."
On Friday night, Obama had to rush from dinner with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye to convene a conference call with European leaders aimed at toughening sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.


Big chunks of Obama's news conferences with Park and, earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, were devoted to long explanations of his plans to thwart Putin or vows to stick with Middle East
peacemaking."I don't have the luxury of choosing just one problem at a time," Obama told a South Korean journalist who wondered if his attention was being diverted. Battling image problems in the Islamic world, Washington is keen to improve its relationship with economically successful, moderate-Muslim Malaysia.


Relations were acrimonious during the 1981-2003 tenure of authoritarian leader Mahathir Mohamad, a harsh critic of US policies.But trade ties remained solid and Prime Minister Najib Razak is seeking a closer relationship, including on defence.Malaysia is among several nations with competing territorial claimsin the South China Sea, where Beijing's assertiveness has sparked alarm.
In a Malaysian newspaper interview published Saturday, Obama toutedgrowing security cooperation with Malaysia as a way to ensure "freedomof navigation in critical waterways" and that nations "play by the samerules" -- a clear reference to China.But Malaysia also is a close trading partner of China and disagrees with aspects of Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement,
which also has met resistance in Japan. The president is expected to try to ease Malaysian concerns on the TPP when he meets Najib on Sunday.

- Simmering problems -


But simmering problems such as Ukraine could yet intrude again during Obama's two-night Malaysian stay.Obama said on Friday in Seoul that Washington had already lined up
more targeted sanctions against Russia "that are ready to go." US officials have said the measures would only be considered if Russia sent regular forces into volatile eastern Ukraine.


German Chancellor Angela Merkel said EU foreign ministers would meet soon to discuss the issue.

"Given the absence of progress, we have to think about -- and not just think about, but act on -- the option of new sanctions," Merkel said.

In Malaysia, Obama will tread a line between courting Najib andacknowledging the huge numbers in the multi-cultural nation who are fedup with the corruption-plagued coalition in power for 57 years.Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim called the government a "corrupt and authoritarian regime" in a statement Saturday, urging Obama to stand upfor "freedom and democracy."

Obama's four-nation tour of Asia began in Japan, where he offered Abe assurances that the US was treaty-bound to act if China movedmilitarily against Japanese-controlled islands at the centre of a bitter territorial dispute.

Obama meets Malaysia's king Saturday and attends a state dinner.On Sunday, he visits the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur and has talks with Najib, before a "town hall" meeting with youth leaders from around Southeast Asia.

He leaves Monday 28 April 2014,  morning for the Philippines.


Obama watches signing of 3 Malaysia-U.S. business deals worth US$2b

The American leader also visited the National Mosque in Malaysia's capital Saturday and launched jointly with Najib the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) in Cyberjaya, a smart city which hosts some 800 ICT and non-ICT firms, including 43 multinational corporations.




Highlight: Obama watches signing of 3 Malaysia-U.S. business deals worth US$2b





President Barack Obama landed in Malaysia on the latest stop in his
four-country tour of Asia Saturday, where he reportedly expressed solidarity with the country over the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.


“[Obama] said he knows it is a tough, long, road ahead. We’ll work together. There is always support,” Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin said, AFP reports. Obama landed seven weeks to the day since Flight 370 vanished while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Despite a massive search operation involving several countries, there is still no sign of the downed jet.


Obama was due to discuss the search for the plane with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, CNN reports, as one of various issues to be discussed on the first visit of a sitting U.S. president to the country in nearly 50 years. Trade agreements, defense and maritime security were also on the agenda,
according to Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.


The president’s tour of Asia, which ends in the Philippines on Tuesday, is intended to speed up stalled negotiations on a regional trade agreement and reinforce support for U.S. allies amid China’s
assertive claims to territories in the South China Sea.

While visiting American troops stationed in South Korea on Saturday,Obama called neighboring North Korea a “pariah state that would rather starve its people than feed their hopes and dreams.”





KUALA LUMPUR - US President Barack Obama will renew his courtship of Southeast Asia on Sunday, launching a grassroots effort to inspire the region's next generation of leaders in the virtues of  democracy. Obama will convene a "town hall" meeting in Malaysia, with young participants from other Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) on the third leg of a regional tour interrupted by global turbulence.


Obama, an aspirational politician, often appears most at home with  idealistic young people with the future before them, and his Asian Young  Leaders project will be modelled on a similar initiative in Africa. That plan concentrates millions of US aid dollars to connect young Africans across the continent, teach entrepreneurship and foster educational exchanges with the United States.


First in 50 years


Obama on Saturday became the first sitting US president in nearly 50 years to visit moderate-Muslim Malaysia, and quickly expressed solidarity with his hosts over the mystery of missing flight MH370.
Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Obama told him he knows "it is a tough, long, road ahead," over the missing airliner which vanished with 239 people aboard in March.

"We'll work together. There is always support," Hishammuddin said the US leader told him at a humid arrival ceremony under grey skies punctuated with a crashing formal field gun salute.
Obama's tour reaffirms his view that the United States is a key Pacific power in a region where US allies are discomforted by the rise of China and where maritime tensions have disrupted years of relative calm between nations.


But he has one eye elsewhere, notably on the deepening standoff with Russia over Ukraine.

Late Friday, Obama convened a conference call with EU leaders which resulted in a G7 statement that new sanctions against Moscow could be unveiled as soon as Monday.


Obama has also been forced to address the potential threat of a new nuclear weapons test by North Korea and his administration's crumbling Middle East effort.

US ties with economically successful Malaysia have vastly improved after years of anti-US antagonism under former leader Mahathir Mohamad. Washington sees Malaysia as a pivotal player in Southeast Asia, and Obama's talks Sunday with Prime Minister Najib Razak will concentrate on
increasing convergence in trade, security cooperation, and intelligence-sharing.


"While we may be different as nations, our people have similar hopes and similar aspirations," Obama said in a toast to Malaysia's king, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, at a state dinner.


Maritime tensions


Malaysia is among several nations with competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, where Beijing's assertiveness has sparked alarm. In Japan, Obama made clear that US mutual defence agreements with Tokyo covered disputed islands in the East China Sea also claimed by
Beijing. But in a sign of festering tensions, Japanese authorities said two Chinese coastguard ships sailed into Japan's territorial waters around the islands again on Saturday -- just two days after Obama left Tokyo.


In a Malaysian newspaper interview published Saturday, Obama touted growing security cooperation with Malaysia as a way to ensure "freedom of navigation in critical waterways" and that nations "play by the same rules" -- a clear reference to China.

Rising discontent
Obama has a professed affinity with Southeast Asia, having spent four years as a boy in Indonesia.
He will simultaneously court Najib, with whom he will hold a press conference Sunday, and acknowledge rising discontent with the corruption-plagued coalition in power for 57 years, which is accused of  persecuting opponents.

"We support an open political process in Malaysia. We have been concerned when we see any restrictions on the political space," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser.


The White House skipped a meeting between Obama and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who faces five years in jail on a March 7 sodomy conviction he calls politically motivated and which the US government has criticized. Anwar will instead meet US national security adviser Susan Rice.



Malaysia Will Not Succeed If Non-Muslims Marginalised, Says Obama  

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia cannot flourish if the country’s religious and ethnic minorities are sidelined, President of the United States Barack Obama said today.

In his first official visit to the country, Obama said that prejudices against people from different religions and races have no place in the modern world and must be removed.

“Malaysia won't succeed if the non-Muslims do not have the same opportunity,” Obama said in a townhall event at University of Malaya.

Obama said non-Muslims in Malaysia are currently facing hostility, and some have felt oppressed.

He compared the struggle for civil rights across the world to the long fight to eliminate discrimination against ethnic minorities in the US, which culminated in him being elected president.

Obama said countries including Malaysia will not succeed if women, who comprise roughly half of the population, are not given the same opportunities as men.

The president then drew on Christian values on which he was raised, saying that people must treat others the way they would like to be treated themselves.

He also stressed the importance in treating those who are seen as “different” with respect.

“Treat people with respect,” Obama told hundreds of the audience in the event organised by Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative.

“Expect your government to treat everybody with respect and you’re going to be okay.”

Malaysia’s Bumiputera majority enjoys privileges under a system of preferential treatment in jobs, housing and access to government funding.

Obama in KL: Najib, Obama affirm importance of safeguarding maritime security 

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and the United States have affirmed the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region, including critical waterways in the South China Sea.

This was contained in a joint statement issued following talks between Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and visiting US President Barack Obama here Sunday.
"The two leaders underscored the importance of all parties concerned to resolve their territorial and maritime disputes through peaceful means, including international arbitration," it said.
They said the resolution of such disputes should be in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
"The two leaders highlighted the importance of all parties concerned to avoid the use of force, intimidation or coercion, and exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities," it said.
The statement said both Najib and Obama recognised the need for Asean and China to work expeditiously towards the establishment of an effective Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.
"The prime minister and the president reaffirmed the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in enhancing mutual trust and confidence among all parties concerned," it said.
China, Taiwan and four Asean countries, namely Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are involved in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
On the Malaysia-mooted Global Movement of Moderates, the two leaders appreciated its goals in promoting greater understanding and moderation among people of all faiths by expanding government-to-government and people-to-people engagement.
The statement also mentioned that Obama commended Malaysia's leading role in facilitating the peace process in southern Philippines which led to the recent signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
In addition, both leaders reaffirmed the long-standing military-to-military cooperation between Malaysia and the US which provided a solid foundation for enhancements across a broad front.
Najib and Obama decided to continue discussions on opportunities for practical future cooperation in the maritime domain, including ways the US could support the development of Malaysia's maritime enforcement capacity through the provision of training, equipment and expertise.
According to the statement, Obama applauded Malaysia's troop contributions to peacekeeping in United Nations missions, including in Afghanistan and Lebanon, and thanked Malaysia for its successful deployment of a military medical team in Afghanistan.
"Both sides are committed to strengthening cooperation in peacekeeping training under the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) and welcomed US support for the Malaysian Peacekeeping Training Centre," it said.
Najib and Obama welcomed the expansion of ties between the defence industries of both countries, which contributed to Malaysia’s economic development.
"Both sides are committed to working further to nurture and deepen defence bilateral engagements, including promoting the interoperability between their armed forces," it said.
Obama is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, the first by a sitting American president in nearly 50 years. He is scheduled to leave for the Philippines on Monday.-- BERNAMA
  
Obama in KL: US president’s complex and worrying baggage abroad

BARACK Obama is bringing far more to his Far East tour than he could imagine: besides his suits, Air Force One, aides, handlers and minders (the famed Secret Service protection detail), cutting-edge security gadgets and intelligence shield, his nation’s intrusive worldview with its complex and disquieting global effect.

First and foremost: the moment Obama steps out of Air Force One and onto the KLIA tarmac, his already indiscriminately blanket security concerns is immediately a Malaysian anxiety.

   

We are as responsible as to whatever may happen to him as are his doughty security apparatus that brooks no nonsense, not with their kind of threat assessments churned out regularly against the leader of the Free World.

   

Remember, America is where presidents and influential leaders have been assassinated or their lives threatened by too many deadly crackpots, thus the overbearing security paranoia.

But Obama is probably more worried about other pressing issues than he is about his safety, and that is where his real-world baggage bloats exponentially.

   

Where to begin? At the back of his mind as he converses with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over official issues are a slew of global derring-dos that has got him worked up:

 

• In its 11th invasive year, the Iraq-Afghanistan morass: US troops, while steadily being withdrawn, are killed regularly by Taliban/al-Qaeda fighters and operatives, and by improvised explosive devices (Retaliation by secret drone attacks against human targets comes with horrifying collateral damage);

 

• Bitter enemies since the 1979 revolution, Iran defy the US’ world order agenda that destabilised the Middle East. Now, if Obama could make a diplomatic breakthrough, regional tensions will diminish:

 

• Vladimir Putin’s advances to re-annex Ukraine into Russia after triumphantly securing Crimea by a controversial referendum that might re-start the Cold War;

 

• China’s global outpouring of extremely low-cost economic production, foreign investments and goodwill largesse while inflating her alarming military and naval prowess;

 

• That old ally Japan is now transfixed in a delicate pussyfooting with China over disputed islands while prime minister Shinzo Abe foments nationalism to re-assert Japanese supremacy;

 

• South Korea’s edginess in dealing with its nuclear-armed but recalcitrant North Korean brethren whose sabre-rattling under the ruthless Kim Jong-Un is nerve-wrecking;;

 

• It can’t be good when allies India and Pakistan are tangoing in mortal enmity, confined mostly to lethal skirmishes in Kashmir but looming high is both nations’ nuclear missile capabilities curbed only by mutual assured destruction;

 

• The NSA’s omnipresent snooping on enemies and allies, especially European Union leaders like German chancellor Angela Merkel, questions US’ hand of friendship and the special relationship with Great Britain; and,

 

• While the war on terror is controllable, the war of drugs is not: America is still the preferred clientele base as Central and South American drug cartels push cocaine supply that tops with a grim terminal cost.

 

There. Would you want to be Obama surrounded by these mortifying conundrums that he had a hand or an influence, where nations and lives are at stake? 

 

In his Far East tour, Obama is looking out for his hosts’ interest as long as it floats with American ideals. Like anti-terrorism initiatives to snuff Taliban/Al-Qaeda threats or getting certain nations to permit a US naval base as the frontline to the South China Sea to leverage China’s maritime dominance.

   

Other than that, Obama will push issues to protect the great American retailing of Hollywood movies, rock and rap (and jazz and hip-hop), and e-books sans intellectual piracy so routinely enjoyed in these parts.

   

Obama need not worry about American electronics expansion: a gargantuan bulk of chips are still flowing out of Penang’s free trade zones that propels US computing and social media powerhouses worldwide.

   

Obama also need not worry about Malaysia’s rapport with America apart from the warm ties he and Najib cultivated. 

   

Malaysians, Obama will know for sure, are smitten with America, notwithstanding some crackpot anti-US demonstration at their Jalan Tun Razak embassy recently.

   

Many Malaysians are soaked in American pop culture, high education (Ivy League in particular), retail, tourism and Silicon Valley, as if we are greater America: not an exaggeration even as many conservative Malaysians defy that permissive reach.

   

Just about anything and everything “America” influences Malaysians’ daily lives to the point that “Americanism” is fondly imitated and assumed – in fashion, mannerism, verbalism, ideas, activism, initiatives, worldview and some elements of its ideology.

   

However, there is a strict limit, Obama will be reminded: religious orthodoxy and political interference won’t be tolerated, so Obama NOT meeting a certain narcissistic old goat is a nice, if not strategic, tact.

   

But Obama will have to accept that Malaysians will never give in to gay marriage or legalised marijuana, the rage in America now.

   

Neither would they give in to emulate America’s most horrendous problems: awry gun control and deaths, high finance hijinks that caused the 2008 economic meltdown and bailouts, unilateral need to police the globe and continued protection of the one-percenters controlling the bulk of America’s wealth.

SUBANG, April 28 (Bernama) -- United States President Barack Obama left Malaysia today after completing a three-day state visit, a historic milestone nearly 50 years after the trip by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Air Force One carrying the American president took off about 10.20 am from the Subang military base in the outskirts of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Among those present to bid him farewell were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Obama is headed for the Philippines, the final stop of his four-nation tour of Asia. He had visited Japan and South Korea, prior to Malaysia.

In his final engagement, Obama witnessed the signing of several commercial deals between Malaysian and American companies worth US$2 billion in the aviation, biotechnology and insurance sectors.

Also present at the event in a Kuala Lumpur hotel on Monday was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Both leaders held bilateral talks in Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya on Sunday, which saw both nations agreeing to upgrade their bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership.

The US has also pledged to continue providing Malaysia with whatever search and investigation assistance needed in the mission to locate the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 aircraft.

Other highlights of Obama's visit was his town hall session with youth leaders from across Southeast Asia and a visit to the National Mosque.

The president also attended a state banquet with the Malaysian King, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, at Istana Negara a few hours after his arrival Saturday.