The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that his comment to the United States President Donald Trump on wanting to help strengthen the US economy had been “misconstrued” to “confuse the rakyat”.
Najib clarified: “I said that I was there to strengthen the economy which did not mean that we will contribute to the US economy without receiving anything from its economy.
“I meant that we were not there to ask for alms but that we were there as a successful country which has the potential to be a significant global player.”
This caused me to go back to the transcript of the exchange between Najib and Trump at the beginning of Najib’s visit to the White House on Sept. 12.
According to the transcript, this is what Najid said:
PRIME MINISTER RAZAK: Thank you very much, Mr. President, for your invitation for me and members of my delegation to meet with you at the White House. I want to say that we come here with a strong value proposition to put on the table.
Number one, we want to help you in terms of strengthening the U.S. economy. I come with three specific proposals. Number one, we intend to increase the number of Boeing planes to be purchased by MAS. We are committed to 25 planes of the 737 MAX 10, plus eight 787 Dreamliners. And there is a strong probability — not possibility – probability that we will add 25 more 737 MAX 10 in the near future. So within five years, the deal will be worth beyond $10 billion. That’s one. We will also try to persuade AirAsia to purchase GE engines.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Great.
PRIME MINISTER RAZAK: Secondly, we have Employees Provident Fund, which is a major pension fund in Malaysia. They’ve got quite a big sum of capital to be exported. They have invested close to $7 billion, in terms of equity, in the United States. And they intend to invest three to four additional billion dollars to support your infrastructure redevelopment in the United States.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Great.
PRIME MINISTER RAZAK: And thirdly, our sovereign fund, Khazanah, they have an office in Silicon Valley. They have invested about $400 million, in terms of high-tech companies, and they intend to increase that investment as well.
Secondly, the other goal of your administration, Mr. President, which is to make the United States safe — and with that, the world safe — we are committed to fight Daesh, IS, Al-Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf — you name it. They are the enemy of the United States, they are also the enemy of Malaysia, and we will do our part to make sure that our part of the world is safe.
We will also contribute in terms of the ideological warfare because you need to win the hearts and minds. And the key to it is to support moderate and progressive Muslim regimes and governments around the world, because that is the true face of Islam; that is the authentic face of Islam. The more you align with progressive and moderate regimes, the better it would be in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim world.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Right.
PRIME MINISTER RAZAK: So, Mr. President, thank you once again. The United States has always been our partner for a long, long time. And this year is our 60th anniversary of our relationship, and I hope that today’s meeting will make it even stronger in the years to come.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
According to the transcript, Najib did not mention a single word about expecting the United States to contribute to the Malaysian economy or that Malaysia was not asking for alms as Malaysia was a successful country with the potential to be a significant global player.
Were these remarks omitted from the transcript released by the White House itself.
In that case, is the Prime Minister’s Office going to issue another “transcript” of what Najib said at the White House in his meeting with President Trump to prove that he had been “misconstrued”?
In the absence of a second “transcript” and a second “video” of the Najib-Trump exchange at the start of Najib’s visit to the White House on Sept. 12, we can only go by the transcript and 5-minute 58-second video released by the White House.
Can Najib enumerate how his remarks at the White House at the opening of his meeting with President Trump had been misconstrued?
In the absence of an alternative transcript and video, what Najib said at the White House was crystal clear – that he was making his US visit “to help you (US President Trump) in terms of strengthening the U.S. economy” with three “value propositions”.
Like a well-performing child, Trump in his cocky self with arms folded, rewarded Najib with words of approbation of “Great”, “Great” and “Right” when Najib outlined the three “value propositions” to strengthen the US economy – and nothing more!
There was no mention that Malaysia expected the US to contribute to the Malaysian economy as quid pro quo, that Malaysia was not asking for alms just as from the transcript Najib did not mention the US Department of Justice (DOJ) kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets, DOJ’s reference of Najib as “MO1” or suggestion to Trump to drop the US DOJ suit and FBI criminal investigations into the 1MDB scandal.
If there is another transcript, Najib should direct the PMO to release the second transcript or he should state out clearly how his White House statement had been misconstrued.