Donald Trump Is The President Of The USA
Here's how it impacts Malaysia.
By Sadho Ram — 09 Nov 2016, 03:34 PM
In a vote margin that initially remained razor thin but gradually started favouring Republicans, Donald J. Trump, beating Hillary R. Clinton, has seized back the White House for his party after 8 years
Donald Trump, who won the key swing states of Florida, North Carolina and Ohio early on and dashed Hillary Clinton's hopes has cleared his path to the White House.
While Hillary managed to win a couple of the battlegrounds, it wasn't enough.
The mood at Clinton HQ, according to ABC News' US bureau chief Zoe Daniel, "Some people are in tears. They're hugging each other. There's just a sense of pervasive shock". They have been completely blindsided by what happened.
The results are not what the media pundits were predicting and hoping for. Trump, who was written off by the media, has shocked the world, as some of these reactions on social media shows:
Donald Trump didn't win today.
— b (@bennymcnugget) November 9, 2016
Hate won
Fear won
Racism won
Sexism won
Homophobia won
Prejudice won
Self interest won #ElectionNight
Trump winning is a bit like Jamal Yunos winning. Absolutely nothing good to come from it.
— Marina Mahathir (@netraKL) November 9, 2016
There was a time we could have mocked America for electing Donald Trump president. That was before Brexit.
— Oliver Holt (@OllieHolt22) November 9, 2016
DONALD TRUMP ISN'T EVEN ALLOWED TO RUN HIS ON TWITTER ACCOUNT AND AMERICA WANTS HIM RUNNING THE COUNTRY WOW UNBELIEVABLE
— Adam (@abnormallyadam) November 9, 2016
How is this going to affect US-Malaysia relations?
Expect twists and turns in the relationship with a new team in place in Washington, warns US Acting Ambassador Edgard Kagan, before assuring that the bond between the two countries would remain the same, if not improve.
Former President Obama with PM Najib playing golf. The two have enjoyed a healthy relationship over the years.
Image via afrSpeaking on behalf of the US Embassy, which was hosting a live election watch at the JW Marriott Hotel in KL, the US Acting Ambassador said that he is "confident" it's not going to change
"US-Malaysia relationship has improved dramatically in recent years. It is a reflection of the strong ties between our countries, the people-to-people relationship, and the interests that have driven us," he was quoted as saying by FMT.
However, there are concerns among people who think that the newly-elected Republican President Donald Trump's total lack of experience in foreign policies might affect the economy of Malaysia
"He seems to be very emotional. And while he may be good in business, he also appears to be adamant to have things going his own way. This may mean that if Malaysia wants to protect its good relationship with the US, we will have to give in to a lot of his demands," a person, wishing to remain anonymous, told FMT today.
And the above concern appears to be justified, at least as of now, as the immediate reaction to Trump's Presidency is seeing financial markets falling with Asian markets trading sharply lower, down around two percentage points, reported the New York Times
An employee of a foreign exchange trading company in Japan working below monitors that displayed the yen’s exchange rate and Hillary Clinton.
Image via Toru Hanai/Reuters via NYTAlthough, what's it going to do in the long-term remains to be seen
There is, however, one factor where Donald Trump's Presidency may impact Malaysia negatively, is that Trump has opposed the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.
And the fact that he has threatened to impose punitive 45% tariffs on goods from China, there is a possibility of a trade war. But it's too soon to say anything right now.