Scandal ridden Najib is postulating in Malaysian media that he has brought the plight of the Rohingya into the White House – even going as far as to claiming to have ‘increased Trump’s knowledge’ on the Rohingya plight. He also took credit for the US’s ‘consideration’ to send humanitarian aid to the Rohingya, claiming that “such a joint plea would not have materialised without Malaysia’s contribution.”*
Indeed the joint press statement between the White House and the Malaysian delegation mentions Myanmar and a host of motherhood statements, on ending violence against civilians and a need for a strong international response.
However, upon a closer study of the statement**, there was no mention of what actions, when, nor any commitment of any actions – tangible or otherwise – by either Trump nor Najib. There was no mention of taking anyone or any organisation to task, nor engaging any of the multitude of multilateral platforms Malaysia and USA are jointly on to turn words into action.
For a President who spent so much of his campaign discrediting his opponent for not calling things as they are, or taking political correctness too far — referring to the Democrats’ refusal to label terrorism as ‘Islamic terrorism’ — his joint statement with the Malaysian Prime Minister was not only equally guilty of that but worse.
Most notably, the word Rohingya was not mentioned AT ALL. Not even the State of Rakhine was mentioned. The statement could very well have been written 20+ years ago to ensure that political correctness of the highest order is upheld.
Anyhow, I do not wish to discuss Trump, as his demagoguery gets plenty of global attention.
On Najib, I have three simple conclusions to draw from this.
- Najib is incompetent, for publicly committing to a cause yet returning with nothing.
- Najib is desperate, for spin-doctoring a bilateral discussion with ‘the most powerful office in the world’.
- Najib is disingenuous, for using a monumental humanitarian crisis as political fodder to divisively garner ethno-religious support, and preserving a narrative of bigotry and polarisation.
I love my country but I despise he who heads the goverment. If i was to take a leaf out of Trump’s playbook and do away with the political correctness, I would say the Malaysian Prime Minister is useless, on his last straw of political survival, and utterly sickening.
* https://m.utusan.com.my/berita/politik/najib-tunai-janji-bawa-isu-rohingya-kepada-trump-1.526516
** Excerpt from the joint statement:
“They discussed the need to end the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Both leaders called for an end to the violence targeting civilian populations, and discussed the need for a strong international community response for the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have been victimised and displaced by violence, including those who have arrived in Bangladesh. Both sides urged the Myanmar government to end the violence against innocents and ensure that humanitarian relief reaches victims immediately.”