Malaysia’s Najib Razak hails Indonesia’s ‘proactive steps’ to deepen China ties
- Najib used the Indonesian president’s trip to Beijing to take aim at critics who had accused him of ‘selling the country’ when he made similar overtures during his leadership
- The China-friendly former PM’s remarks may be a bid to score ‘political points’ amid expected snap elections that he’s likely to play a key role in, observers say
Malaysia’s China-friendly former prime minister Najib Razak has hailed Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s recent visit to Beijing as exemplary diplomacy, and took aim at critics who accused him of “selling the country” when he made similar overtures.
Najib is out on bail pending an appeal over a 12-year prison sentence handed down in 2020 and is facing other criminal trials, but is widely seen as the most influential figure in the current premier Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s ruling coalition.
In a Facebook post, Najib wrote that Malaysia’s neighbours were pulling ahead economically as their leaders took “proactive steps” on trade and investment.
Referencing a media report on Widodo’s East Asia trip this week – which includes stops in Japan and South Korea – Najib wrote that such diplomatic tours served multiple purposes, including fostering stronger personal ties among leaders, drawing in investment and boosting trade.
“China is our biggest and main trading partner, and we also receive huge benefits in oil palm, infrastructure, digital economy and various investments from China. Like Indonesia today,” Najib said.
“That is one of the main reasons why I maintained and strengthened our relationship with the leaders of other countries when I was prime minister,” said Najib, who was in power from 2009 until his Barisan Nasional alliance suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the Pakatan Harapan coalition in 2018.