PUTRAJAYA: United States President Donald Trump has acknowledged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as his reliable friend whom he would pay attention to, including issues raised by Malaysia.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said this was apparent during the recent Asean-US Dialogue session at the 31st Asean Summit in Manila, the Philippines, where Trump accorded his appreciation to Najib.
He said apart from that, Trump also recognised Malaysia’s role as a country coordinator for the Asean-US dialogue relations.
"At the Asean-US Dialogue, there was a close meeting session where Trump said: "Najib is a good friend of mine. I have known him since I was still in the business world and before I become the US president.
"While saying this, Trump looked at other Asean leaders, as if he wanted to tell them how close the friendship is.
"Knowing Trump, he is not easy in praising someone. But, based on his body language, he was sincere," Anifah told reporters at a special interview.
During the three-day summit, which was held from Nov 12 to 14, Najib and Asean leaders discussed several issues including the Rohingya, South China Sea and North Korea.
Anifah said Trump had voiced his commitment to cooperate with Asean that would benefit both parties and also expressed his appreciation of the US-Asean relationship.
Trump has also called for free and fair trade practices to coordinate the trade balance gap between Asean and US.
"Trump said Malaysia has performed very well and he was happy with what Malaysia has done.
"This is a good sign. It is not easy to have close ties with China and at the same time, with the US. In fact, this never happened during the tenure of other prime ministers," he said.
When asked what triggered Trump to sing praises to Najib, Anifah said the US president was simply admiring how the Malaysian government has remained consistent in its stand on Rohingya and South China Sea issues.
"Trump appreciates Najib for his consistency. He also feels comfortable and easy with Najib. He knows that he can depend on our prime minister."
"We can see the differences between Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama. At the time, Najib and Obama were quite formal but when Najib is with Trump, we can see that they are close and can interact casually," said Anifah.
He also shared his experience when arranging a meeting between Najib and Trump, where he sent a letter to the US state secretary Rex Tillerson in May.
"Tillerson had said the meeting arrangement will be a priority. Both leaders later met at the White House in September. If not because Trump had known Najib before he was president, I don't think the meeting will take place in just four months," he said.
Anifah said the government was planning to invite Trump to Malaysia after the 14th General Election.
He said he was sad that some quarters in the country failed to appreciate Najib and his leadership.
"I have been to various international forums and glad to see that the world substantively recognises the capability of our prime minister.
"In contrast, our own people never appreciate his (Najib) leadership,
"Because of him, we have reached many agreements with other countries such as the free-trade agreements," said Anifah.
On a related matter, Anifah said he would contact his counterpart in Myanmar to follow-up on the agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya refugees back to Rakhine State.
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi had agreed at the Asean plenary session that there is a need for a long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis and promised to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya refugees back to their country.
"The prime minister has instructed me to follow the development between Bangladesh and Myanmar on the Rohingya issues and if there are any conditions imposed by the Myanmar government to repatriate the refugees." he said.