Never before has a Prime Minister of Malaysia invested so much on publicity and propaganda (not to mention funds) for his visit to the United States to visit the White House and meet with US President Trump in Washington Tuesday or several hours from now.

On his departure for the US on Sept. 10, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak wrote a special article in his blog entitled “Malaysia’s Record of Democracy and Free Speech is Strong” extolling his own democratic virtues and commitments and human rights record, which are quite dismal indeed.

But this was not enough. On Sept. 11, the Prime Minister’s Office ensured that Najib’s special message appeared in the top American political website, the Hill, entitled: “Malaysian prime minister: Trump, we have your back in fighting ISIS”.

But all these PR exercises to generate positive vibes for Najib’s visit to the White House and meeting with President Trump were drowned in an ocean of bad press, not only in the United States but in the world as well. Read the rest of this entry »