President Obama has
scaled back his upcoming Asia trip from four
nations to two in order
to deal with the U.S. government shutdown.
Indonesia and Brunei
arein - Malaysia and the Philippines
are out.
U.S. Shutdown Scuttles Obama's Keenly-Awaited Malaysia Visit (Bernama, Malaysia)
"I informed him that I understand the domestic situation in
the United States that is preventing him from making an official visit, and
that even if he did come, it would be questioned by American society ... If
they don't deal with the debt ceiling, it will have serious consequences for
the U.S. economy. With a major slowdown, and even worse, recession, that will
certainly affect global growth and Malaysia as well. But it's still too early
to say."
Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak addresses the 68th opening of U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 28. He spoke about the problem of Muslim extremism, saying, 'Our task is to reclaim our faith and stand firm against the minority who use Islam to further violent and unjust means."
SEPANG: Following the shutdown of the
administrative operations in the United States, President Barack Obama has
postponed his much-awaited visit to Malaysia this month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri NajibTunRazak said Wednesday.
Najib said Obama called him Wednesdays
morning, and the he understood the domestic challenges Obama has in confronting
his nation's debt ceiling on Oct. 17. This would have been Obama's first visit
to Malaysia
"Yet,
Obama expressed his intention to visit Malaysia at a date to be determined
later," Najib said. "He said he appreciated
Malaysia's role and bilateral trade between Malaysia and the United States."
"I
informed him that I understand the domestic situation in the United States that
is preventing him from making an official visit, and that even if he did come,
it would be questioned by American society," he told a press conference
after launching construction on a second hangar at the Sepang Aircraft
Engineering facility.
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Worldmeets.US
The
U.S. president was scheduled to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2013
in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 11. Instead, Najib said that Obama
would be represented at the summit by Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary
of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and Trade Representative
Michael Froman.
"This
is very unexpected and unforeseen. ... I empathize and understand, if I were in
his shoes, I would do the same on such a major domestic crisis. Certainly it
would be very hard for the U.S. president to leave his country."
Asked
how the crisis in the U.S. would affect the Malaysian economy, Najib, who is also finance minister, said it would no short-term
impact.
"But
we don't know how long the shutdown will continue. The most serious moment will
come on October 17. If they don't deal with the debt ceiling, it will have serious
consequences for the U.S. economy. With a major slowdown, and even worse,
recession, that will certainly affect global growth and Malaysia as well. But
it's still too early to say. We will monitor the situation very closely,"
he said.
When
asked whether Malaysia should continue talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement given that the host county, the United States, is facing a crisis, Najib said:"That is quite a separate issue from the current
crisis in U.S., which is an internal process. It has nothing to do with the TPPA."
On
late Monday, the White House Office of Management and Budget ordered government
agencies to begin shutting down after Congress failed to find a compromise on a
government spending bill.
