U.S. President Donald Trump Could Be Visiting Malaysia This November

Just last week, current President of the United States, Donald Trump visited Singapore to hold a historic summit with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Now, it has been revealed that he will be making his way back to Southeast Asia sooner than we think, and may even pay Malaysia a visit!

According to The Star, Trump could very likely be making his way to Malaysian shores later in November 2018 after the 33rd ASEAN Summit, which will be held in Singapore this year (2018).

Source: TIME

White House National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Matthew Pottinger told local press at a media roundtable yesterday (19th June),

“Trump looks forward to deepening our comprehensive partnership with Malaysia.”

“We’ve got of course the ASEAN summit coming up later this year, so we’re exploring the possibilities right now for the President’s follow on travel in November.”

“I had the pleasure of conveying a letter to the government from Trump congratulating Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir on the coalition that he leads and his electoral victory, and also congratulating the Malaysian people,” he continued, according to the Malay Mail.

Just weeks after Pakatan Harapan won the historic 14th general election, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mentioned that he had no immediate plans to contact Trump, calling him a “fickle-minded” person and that he doesn’t know how to work with someone so unpredictable.

Source: Tanwir.my

In response to the Prime Minister’s concerns, Pottinger emphasised that the U.S. is “looking forward to engage and deepen the bilateral relationship at all levels of government”.

In September 2017, former prime minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak met with President Donald Trump at the White House, proposing a number of investments the then Malaysian government wanted to make in the United States’ infrastructure.

Source: The Malaysian Insight

The U.S. President and his administration’s policies are certainly no strangers to international criticism. Most recently, Trump and his administration have come under fire for separating young children of illegal immigrants from their parents and keeping them in what many people have deemed concentration camps. On top of that, the U.S. has also just pulled out of the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing the body of “politicising and scapegoating countries with positive human rights records”.

What do you think of Donald Trump’s possible visit to Malaysia? Let us know in the comments below!

Also read: Tun M Calls Trump “Fickle-Minded”, Won’t Be Meeting Him Anytime Soon