JOHOR BARU: The decision to invite the United States President Donald Trump to the Asean Summit was made unanimously by all Asean leaders, not by the Prime Minister, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the Asean Summit usually have dialogue partners such as the United States, Japan, China, and various other countries attending.
"For the 46th Summit, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries were included, and this time, we will have Asean partners, including the US, at the summit.
“This is not Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s decision, but a unanimous decision by all 10 Asean leaders," he said at a press conference after launching the state-level Yayasan Pelajaran Malaysia Skuad.
Ahmad Zahid said the invitation, however, does not change Malaysia's stand on the Palestine issue.
“This does not stop us from expressing our disagreement if there is interference from the United States in what is happening in Gaza and Palestine,” he said.
When asked if the matter would be discussed in Parliament, he said there may be a Private Member’s Bill to debate the issue.
“They are free to have differing opinions, but we must also respect the decision made by the Asean Secretariat, particularly the decision agreed upon by all 10 Asean leaders,” he said.
He added that the upcoming summit will also see Timor-Leste being welcomed as the 11th Asean member country.
The 47th Asean Summit is expected to be held in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 27 to 28.
Apart from Trump, the summit is also expected to gather leaders from China, India, Australia, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, and all Asean member states.
