Thai paper: Bangkok trip was for golf, shopping
Published: Jan 7, 2015 9:18 AM | Updated: Jan 7, 2015 9:41 AM
Having faced heat for being in Hawaii while the worst flood in decades ravaged the east coast, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak could now be facing more flak for his Bangkok trip last week.
It was a private trip, not an official one, according to Bangkok Post.
Having faced heat for being in Hawaii while the worst flood in decades ravaged the east coast, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak could now be facing more flak for his Bangkok trip last week.
Thai daily The Bangkok Post reported that the PM’s trip to the Thai capital was not an official trip to thank his counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha for flood aid, but was a “private trip” to rest and play.
The daily quoted a source close to Prayut as saying that Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor “went shopping, played golf and stayed overnight at the Shangri-La” when they visited Thailand on Jan 2.
He did, however, meet with Prayut for a 90-minute “informal talk” at the general’s residence.
“The Malaysian prime minister had to tweet that he had lunch with Gen Prayut to thank Thailand for donating 500 tonnes of rice to help flood-hit Malaysian victims and to exchange views on flood solving and restoration.
“This is seen as trying to avoid criticism about his trip. Thailand did not disclose news about his visit for etiquette reasons as he went to holiday here,” the source told The Bangkok Post.
Najib was severely criticised when The Washington Post reported he was golfing with United States president Barack Obama in Hawaii on Dec 26, when thousands of people were displaced by floods at home.
The PM left to Hawaii on a family holiday on Dec 20, but cut short his holiday on Dec 27 after he came under severe criticism when floods worsen. At its highest, the number of flood evacuees hit a record of at least 200,000.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday said damage to Kelantan alone is estimated to be close to RM1 billion.
‘Jet not used by PM’s family’
Najib and family flew to Hawaii on the official jet - an Airbus A319 with call-sign 9M-NAA - but Najib returned to Malaysia on a commercial flight to Hong Kong to be picked up by another government jet and flown directly to Kelantan, the hardest hit state by the floods.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) clarified that the jet was not used by Najib’s family but had technical issues.
The PMO did not explain why the jet was tracked landing in various airports in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, New York, London, Dubai and Bangkok. It arrived in KLIA from Bangkok on Sunday.
Najib was due to attend an official function on Monday but his office later tweeted that the doctor ordered him to rest as he contracted the E.coli bacterial infection.
PMO said he contracted the bacteria, which comes from faeces, from his visit to flood-affected areas.
It is not known how Najib went to Bangkok but the same plane which ferried him from Hong Kong to Kelantan - a Boeing 737 with the call-sign M53-01- landed in Bangkok on Jan 1 at 4.58pm and returning to Kuala Lumpur on the same day an hour later.
Thai daily The Bangkok Post reported that the PM’s trip to the Thai capital was not an official trip to thank his counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha for flood aid, but was a “private trip” to rest and play.
The daily quoted a source close to Prayut as saying that Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor “went shopping, played golf and stayed overnight at the Shangri-La” when they visited Thailand on Jan 2.
He did, however, meet with Prayut for a 90-minute “informal talk” at the general’s residence.
“The Malaysian prime minister had to tweet that he had lunch with Gen Prayut to thank Thailand for donating 500 tonnes of rice to help flood-hit Malaysian victims and to exchange views on flood solving and restoration.
“This is seen as trying to avoid criticism about his trip. Thailand did not disclose news about his visit for etiquette reasons as he went to holiday here,” the source told The Bangkok Post.
Najib was severely criticised when The Washington Post reported he was golfing with United States president Barack Obama in Hawaii on Dec 26, when thousands of people were displaced by floods at home.The PM left to Hawaii on a family holiday on Dec 20, but cut short his holiday on Dec 27 after he came under severe criticism when floods worsen. At its highest, the number of flood evacuees hit a record of at least 200,000.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday said damage to Kelantan alone is estimated to be close to RM1 billion.
‘Jet not used by PM’s family’
Najib and family flew to Hawaii on the official jet - an Airbus A319 with call-sign 9M-NAA - but Najib returned to Malaysia on a commercial flight to Hong Kong to be picked up by another government jet and flown directly to Kelantan, the hardest hit state by the floods.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) clarified that the jet was not used by Najib’s family but had technical issues.
The PMO did not explain why the jet was tracked landing in various airports in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, New York, London, Dubai and Bangkok. It arrived in KLIA from Bangkok on Sunday.
Najib was due to attend an official function on Monday but his office later tweeted that the doctor ordered him to rest as he contracted the E.coli bacterial infection.
PMO said he contracted the bacteria, which comes from faeces, from his visit to flood-affected areas.
It is not known how Najib went to Bangkok but the same plane which ferried him from Hong Kong to Kelantan - a Boeing 737 with the call-sign M53-01- landed in Bangkok on Jan 1 at 4.58pm and returning to Kuala Lumpur on the same day an hour later.
View Comments0