The US President Is Finally Coming To Malaysia After 48 Years
President Barack Obama will be making a historic trip to Malaysia from 26 April 2014 to 28 April 2014.
By Mei Mei Chu — 22 Apr 2014, 06:37 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
President Obama Denies That Washington Is Bullying Malaysia In TPPA Negotiations
US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak both smile as they participate in a joint news conference at the Perdana Putra Building in Putrajaya
Image via themalaymailonline.comUS President Barack Obama has denied that Washington is bullying Malaysia in the ongoing negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Instead, he said, he himself was being bullied by his own (Democratic) party on the pact while protests against the agreement was more due to "people being fearful of the future or have invested in the status quo."
"It is important for everybody to wait and see what is the (final) agreement before they jump into conclusions," he said in response to a question that Washington was bullying Kuala Lumpur in negotiations on the TPPA at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak here on Sunday. He said it is understandable that there would be objections, protests, accusations of political conspiracies, which is true not only for the US and Malaysia, but for all the negotiating countries.
thestar.com.myIn looking ahead towards a conclusion of the TPPA negotiations, he said that "countries and companies must be ready to take the next leap." Najib, in earlier comments, expressed confidence that the overall benefits of the TPPA would far outweigh the disadvantages of the pact, which is still being negotiated by 12 Pacific rim economies although there would be some losers and gainers.
Activists holds anti Obama and TPPA placquards during a protest against Obama's visit on April 26, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Image via imgur.comHe also said that Washington understands Malaysia's domestic sensitivities as evident during his bilateral talks with Obama earlier. Obama also said the TPPA would benefit Malaysia in achieving high-income nation status by 2020. Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said Malaysia was committed to the process of getting the acceptance of people as far as the TPPA was concerned. The TPPA negotiation involved Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam.
thestar.com.myObama's Arrival In Malaysia Marks The First US Presidential Visit Since 1966
US president Barack Obama has arrived in Malaysia for a three-day historic visit that is hoped to strengthen relations between the two countries to a ‘comprehensive partnership’. Obama, arriving in the Air Force One at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) airbase in Subang at 5pm Saturday, becomes the second US president to visit Malaysia after 48 years.
The 44th US president is due to meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara, where a state banquet is to be held tonight. The last sitting president in an official state visit Malaysia was Lyndon Johnson in 1966 to rally support for the US war in Vietnam. The visit is viewed by Putrajaya as one that will continue to build good rapport between the countries on areas such as “economy, security and people-to-people relations”. However, Obama is also facing pressure on areas such as human rights, democracy and religious issues.
therepublic.com
Obama was greeted by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman. Obama's visit to Malaysia is the first by a sitting US President since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. Obama's programme on the first day include a state welcoming ceremony at Parliament Square. He will later pay a courtesy call to the King and attend a state banquet at Istana Negara.
thestar.com.myPHOTO: Obama Walks From Marine One With U.S. Ambassador To South Korea Sung Kim To board Air Force One At Osan Air Base, South Korea, Saturday, April 26, 2014, En Route To KL, Malaysia
US President Barack Obama Will Finally Make A Historic Visit To Malaysia From The 26 April 2014 To 28 April 2014
US President Barack Obama Will Finally Make A Historic Visit To Malaysia From The 26 April 2014 To 28 April 2014
Image via smh.com.auPresident Barack Obama on Wednesday announced he will visit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines in April, six months after a scrapped tour of the region raised questions about his commitment to an increasingly influential region of the world.
nst.com.my
Obama is due to meet with the leaders of all four nations, and plans to address diplomatic, economic and security issues, the White House said.
nst.com.my
Obama Will Be The First US President To Visit Malaysia In 48 Years
Obama arrives here on Saturday on a historic trip, the first by a sitting US president in 48 years after President Lyndon B. Johnson came way back in 1966.
thestar.com.myFirst Lady Michelle will not be accompanying Obama, who was initially scheduled to visit Malaysia last October. The trip was postponed due to the budget standoff in Washington.
thestar.com.myObama Is Scheduled To Have A Press Conference With Najib And Attend A Town-Hall Event At University Malaya During His Three Day Visit
Mr Obama is scheduled to hold a joint press conference with Mr Najib on Sunday. The US president is also due to attend a town-hall event at Malaya University with young regional leaders and meet civil society groups.
20 Malaysians will come face-to-face with the President of the United States in an interactive session here next Sunday. Obama is scheduled to launch the Young South-East Asian Leaders Initiative – an effort to build relationships across South-East Asia through the engagement of young people – at Universiti Malaya.
thestar.com.myThe president will also visit Masjid Negara and meet Malaysian civil society leaders before leaving for the Philippines on Monday.
thestar.com.myHis Visit Comes Amidst Anti-US Sentiment Growing In Malaysia Stoked By MH370 Conspiracy Theories
Mr Obama’s visit to the Muslim-majority country comes amid anti-US sentiment stoked by wild speculation in the government-controlled media over the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. This is despite the fact that US agencies have helped search for the plane and assisted the criminal investigation into the cause of its disappearance.
The government-owned Utusan Malaysia newspaper last month published a report claiming the US was involved in the plane’s disappearance in an elaborate plot to damage ties between Malaysia and China. The government took several days to refute the claim.
While Obama Will Be Meeting The Prime Minister, He Has Not Planned To Visit Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim
US officials said Friday that Obama did not plan to see Anwar while he is in Kuala Lumpur, marking the first visit by a sitting US president to the Southeast Asian nation in nearly half a century. They did not rule-out a lower level meeting.
themalaysianinsider.com
US national security advisor Susan Rice said while Obama was unlikely to meet Anwar "there may be other engagements at other levels" without elaborating.
Anwar Says He Is Not Upset But A Meeting With Obama Would Have Been Consistent With US Democratic Ideals
US president Barack Obama won't meet with Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Image via smh.com.auOpposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today a meeting with US President Barack Obama during a coming visit to Malaysia would have been "consistent with US democratic ideals", after Washington said there would be no such encounter.
yahoo.comBut Anwar, who was convicted of sodomy in March and whose opposition is engaged in a fierce political battle with Malaysia's longtime government, stopped short of criticising the US president.
"I am not upset," he told AFP, but he added that a meeting would have been "helpful" and "consistent with US democratic ideals and its foreign policy of promoting freedom and justice."
themalaysianinsider.com
The Ministry Of International Trade And Industry Has Assured That Malaysia Will Not Be Signing The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) During Obama's Visit
Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, has indicated that no trade agreement will be signed during US President Barack Obama's visit but a lot of issues will be discussed to strengthen bilateral relationship.
He said Obama's visit to Malaysia, the first by a US president since President Lyndon Johnson in 1966, would discuss various issues including economic, defence, education and entrepreneurship. "It's an opportunity for us to share our issues and challenges of concern," he told reporters after officiating the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce's (AMCHAM) new office here today.
Meanwhile, Sanjeev said, the visit was significant in many ways as the ties between both countries were improving amid the efforts from the current administration of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. "The foundation of the relationship is the investment and trade ties. The visit will help strengthen it and give a further impetus to the foundation," he said.
However, Anti TPPA Groups Are Not Convinced. They Say Obama's Trip To Japan Before Visiting Malaysia Will Add Pressure On Malaysia To Sign The Agreement.
Politicians associated with the parliamentary opposition have called for a public protest against US President Barrack Obama’s visit to Malaysia, saying it may result in more pressure being piled on Putrajaya to sign the controversial Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).
Leaders from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and Pakatan Rakyat said today that Obama was coming to seek progress on the TPPA and would make it hard for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak not to sign the trade pact.
“Obama is visiting Japan before Malaysia,” he said. “If he can do a deal in Japan, then the rest of the TPPA will probably be concluded quite quickly. “With Japan on his side, Obama could threaten Najib that Malaysia will lose out if it still puts forward sensitive issues in the TPPA negotiations.” He also said Obama, who is arriving this Saturday, might capitalise on the disappearance of Flight MH370 and the kidnapping case in Sabah to press its case.
The US might offer security enhancement as a trade-off if Malaysia compromises on its red lines in the TPPA. The US regime has always used trade and security hand in hand to twist arms of nations to accept its economic hegemony “PSM fears that the weak Najib Tun Razak would submit to Obama’s request.”