KUALA LUMPUR: A government MP has called on the Finance Ministry to clarify claims that US President Donald Trump’s stay in Malaysia during the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits may have accumulated a hotel bill of around RM5mil.
Chong Zhemin (PH-Kampar) stated that there were allegations that Trump and his high-level delegation had rented the entire Ritz-Carlton Hotel building during his visit to Malaysia, with the total cost reportedly reaching US$1.2mil (RM5mil).
“I would like to seek clarification from the Finance Ministry on whether the cost was borne by the US or by the Finance itself,” said Chong during his debates for the Supply Bill 2026 for the Finance Ministry at the committee stage, on Thursday (Nov 6).
Trump's visit, from Oct 26 to 27, was in conjunction with the 13th Asean-United States Summit and the 20th East Asia Summit.
His visit, at the invitation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Chairman of Asean 2025, was Trump's first to the region since taking office as the 47th President of the United States in January.
Trump was the third American president in history to visit Malaysia, after Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966 and Barack Obama in 2014 and 2015.
During his first term (2017-2021), Trump attended the 2017 Asean Summit in the Philippines but skipped subsequent meetings, raising questions about Washington’s long-term commitment to Southeast Asia.
The last US presidential visit to Malaysia was by Obama in 2015, making Trump’s arrival a diplomatically significant moment as Washington seeks to strengthen ties with Southeast Asia amid intensifying global strategic competition.
