PRIME Minister Najib Razak today played down the fact that he did not stay in Blair House – the US president’s guest house – during his trip to Washington last month, saying that he did play a round of golf with Donald Trump.

Najib said not only was he invited to play golf with Trump, but the president also ushered him to the car.

He was replying to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Permatang Pauh-PKR) who asked why he did not receive an invitation to stay at Blair House compared with the kind of treatment received by Singapore prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on his official visit to the US on October 21.

Najib and his entourage stayed in Trump International Hotel, which the president owns through a trust. 

The government also did not fork out a single sen to secure a meeting with Trump.

Najib said, unlike a former prime minister, the invitation from Trump was work-related and he did not have to pay a lobbyist to arrange the meeting.

Although he did not name the prime minister, it is a veiled reference to Dr Mahathir Mohamad who visited the White House during the Ronald Reagan presidency and also paid a lobbyist to arrange w a meeting with president George Bush in 2002.

Dr Mahathir had been accused of lobbying for a meeting with then US president George Bush in 2002, a claim that Dr Mahathir has denied.

“The invitation from President Trump was work-related and I did not pay anything for the invite. My predecessor had done it to meet Bush but we did not. The predecessor did it… and he has now joined the opposition. That’s great,” he said. 

He said one should not fuss about minor things as it was not about policies.

“I don’t have to mention it all that. But when we talked about policies, we received the highest acknowledgement and respect from the US administration,” said Najib.

He added that the country’s foreign policy remained the same and wanting to improve bilateral relations with the US did not mean that Malaysia was favouring it over other countries.

“We have always been consistent and continue to defend our sovereignty and national principals.”

He said the special treatment received by him and Cabinet ministers in Washington showed how close the ties between Malaysia and the United States were.

Najib was answering a question posed by Bintulu-BN MP Tiong King Sing, who asked if the prime minister used a middleman to secure a meet with Trump.

Last week, in a written reply to Seremban-DAP MP Anthony Loke, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said said that the cost of the prime minister’s trip to the United States in September was within the allocation set out under the Members of Parliament Act (allowances) 1980 (Act 237).

She, however, did not reveal the total amount spent on the September 16 trip.

She said the expenditure covered the flight cost, transportation, food allowance, phones and others.

Najib’s trip had received criticism from the opposition. Dr Mahathir took a jab at Najib last month, asking if the billions to be invested are loans from the government.

During his recent visit to the White House, Najib told President Trump that Malaysia Airlines would buy 25 Boeing 737 jets and eight 787 Dreamliners, with another 25 737s slated for purchase in the near future.

Najib said the deal would be worth more than US$10 billion (RM42 billion) in five years.

At the same meeting, he also said the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) wanted to spend US$3 billion to US$4 billion on US infrastructure development.

Dr Mahathir, who is chairman of opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan, said the workers of Malaysia would “no doubt” support Najib’s use of their pension money “to enrich further the already rich United States”.

Najib in Parliament today said he was sadden by the action of certain parties that intentionally misconstrued the phrase “strengthening the US economy”.

“The truth is, whatever decision is made by the government is for the benefit of the country,” said Najib.

He said Malaysia had to be proactive and that the country would be affected if the US took a protectionist trade policy line on Malaysia or hardened its access to the US market.

Najib also guaranteed that Malaysians who contributed to EPF would get higher returns in the form of dividends compared with profit from investments within Malaysia. – October 30, 2017.