Media spin and benefits from improved US-Msia ties

1.       general comments first: this country’s media needs to improve its current spm-level reporting to something more incisive, critical and developmental. The whole country suffers when journalists and editors take a safety-first approach when reporting leadership activities. Cairo has a newspaper which is 8 pages thin, and Saudi not that much more.. an indication of an unwillingness to educate the public, as the risks of controlling an educated, demanding public could spiral out of control. This attitude is wrong, and more of emulating the attitude of “standing on the shoulders of giants” should be the norm.

2.       Najib was optimistic it would pave the way for “a new beginning” that could lead to a broad, multi-faceted development. =è Bloody spin!

“Economic and trade investment will be a key component of our bilateral ties as we move forward because the US is a big source, not only in terms of an export market for our manufacturing industry but also a source for new technology such as ICT and biotechnology. He pointed out that most fund managers and venture capitalists were US-based.” -  

Ha, this last remark is interesting. Are we looking to pave the way for greater networking and tech transfer with the US. Context is everything – and US is still reeling from its bloody nose from the last economic crisis. We’re actually in a good position and leveraged properly we could get great deals out of this collaboration. But if we go with the attitude of beggars and inferiority complex, we’re gonna get screwed long and hard by these buggers.

“Equally important to us is making the world a safer place.”

3.       And again, let’s not stoop to these buggers – detaining foreign students on Malaysian shores under ISA on the pretext of national security… was this a prelude to this meeting? Let’s first and foremost, build our principles, justice, and equality, and talk to these guys, head-to-head, shoulder-to-shoulder, and eyeball-to-eyeball if need be.

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Obama brings up topic of New Economic Model with Najib

14 Apr 2010

Local Source: The Star

By LIM AI LEE 

Date Published : 14 Apr 2010

 

WASHINGTON: Malaysia’s New Economic Model (NEM) was one of the issues discussed during the bilateral meeting between Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and US President Barack Obama.

Obama, who raised the topic, wanted to know more about the NEM’s implementation.

The Prime Minister said he informed Obama of the Government’s goal of transforming Malaysia into a high-income economy and its liberalising policy.

“I explained that although Malaysia has been successful in its development approach in the past, it does not mean we will continue to be successful unless we look at a package that is more in tune with the new environment and can spur further development,” Najib said at a briefing for Malaysian journalists on Monday night.

Najib added that he brought up the example of Coca Cola investing RM1bil to illustrate how Malaysia had managed to convince huge American firms to invest in the country.

On his meeting with Obama that was held on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, Najib was optimistic it would pave the way for “a new beginning” that could lead to a broad, multi-faceted development.

“Economic and trade investment will be a key component of our bilateral ties as we move forward because the US is a big source, not only in terms of an export market for our manufacturing industry but also a source for new technology such as ICT and biotechnology.”

He pointed out that most fund managers and venture capitalists were US-based.

“There are thus a host of economic opportunities that we can leverage on if we have good bilateral ties with the US,” Najib said.

He also stressed on collaboration in terms of security, counter-terrorism and sharing of information under bilateral ties, saying:

“Equally important to us is making the world a safer place.”

Najib said he extended an invitation to Obama to visit Malaysia, adding that the last president to step into the country did so in 1966.

Apart from meeting Obama, Najib also attended a working lunch with US vice-president Joe Biden and later had a face-to-face meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.