Prime Minister Najib was golfing again in Bangkok?

A source close to Gen Prayut said on Tuesday that the Malaysian prime minister and his wife made a private visit to Thailand on Jan 2. They went shopping, played golf and stayed overnight at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok, says the Bangkok Post.

That is what the Bangkok Post reported today. This latest report sent a chill down my spine because I don't think Najib and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor are so heartless to enjoy themselves, shopping and golfing in Bangkok, while more than 250,000 people were battling the worst floods in our history. 

I hope the Prime Minister's Office would take the necessary action to clarify the actual whereabouts of the Prime Minister on January 2nd/3rd. 

If the report is not true, the PMO must also demand an apology and order the Bangkok Post to retract the report which depicts our Prime Minister as a irresponsible, heartless leader. 

I shall reserve my comments at this moment if the Bangkok Post report is based on facts and is indeed true. 

From Perth to Hawaii - Is Najib heading in Pak Lah's direction?

Our Prime Minister Najib in pink, in the background 

HONOLULU — President Obama has generally refrained from mixing business and pleasure on the golf course. On vacation here in Hawaii, he has mostly hit the links with the same circle of longtime friends and White House aides he usually pals around with. Until Wednesday, when a newbie joined the First Foursome — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The White House said Najib, along with aides Joe Paulsen and Mike Brush, was playing with the president on the course at the Marine Corps base at Kanehoe Bay. Turns out Najib was in town on his own getaway, and it is not unprecedented for Obama to do a golf summit with a world leader. Last year in Hawaii, he played with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. (In 2011, Obama famously played a round with House Speaker John A. Boehner at Andrews Air Force Base that did not exactly lead to a good working relationship off the course.)

Obama has established perhaps a better working relationship with Najib, after making the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Malaysia in nearly half a century last spring. It was unlikely they had an in-depth discussion of their foreign policy agendas on the course, however, but perhaps focusing instead on trying to avoid the sand traps.

In a statement, the White House said: "The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss the growing and warming relationship between the United States and Malaysia. The president said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Najib in 2015, during Malaysia's chair year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations."

On the 18th hole, reporters were allowed onto the course briefly. Obama missed a putt to the left off the hole, then tried to tap in but "picked the ball up before it missed again," according to a pool report. Najib also missed a second putt, but Obama consoled him with a pat on the shoulder. - WASHINGTON POST

Newbie in a foursome, avoiding sand traps and about being consoled by none other than the US President certainly makes a good read. 

If you take golf out of the equation then the whole paragraph above would send different signals to different people. Painting a perception, in most instances, is vital. 

Ok, don't underestimate the perception when our Prime Minister is engaged in a foursome with Supreme Commander of the US Military, the most powerful war machine in the world. 

Obama 'looking forward to working with Najib in 2015' paints a perception that the Malaysian PM will most probably remain in his seat despite the growing uneasiness to his lame, flip-flop leadership. 

The possibility of Obama and Najib focusing on how to avoid sand traps would certainly be useful for both leaders. Obama has his problems too, from Russians to the Republicans. 

Najib in the meantime could probably use the 'how to avoid sand traps' manual to handle the 1MDB saga. I see Najib's strategists, advisors and all those bangangs are still busy shooting messengers. 
  
Oh ya, don't worry Najib Tun Razak with the fact that more than 100,000 people have been displaced in Malaysia due to floods and at least one or two states may opt to declare a state of emergency if the situation worsens. 

The fact that the Prime Minister is away on holiday while the country is wrecked by disaster is nothing new. Jangan mudah lupa. 

Najib is certainly heading in Pak Lah's direction. 

Nasi Kandar (banjir) dah bungkus will lead you to Nasi (Kandar Perth) dah bungkus. 

In December2006/January2007 when Johor experienced its worst floods in a hundred years, Pak Lah was on holiday in Perth. Jangan mudah lupa. We, the pro-government guys had hit out at him.

If its the same set of rules, start counting. 

p/s I wonder if Obama and Najib also discussed Anwar Ibrahim. I really wonder.