Photo Credit: Khairy Jamaluddin, Twitter
It was a busy weekend for the President of the United States of America from the moment he touched down in his Air Force One at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang.
He was greeted by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin as he made his way down a red carpet, before being whisked away in his ‘Beast’, to Parliament Square to meet Prime Minister Najib Razak and Malaysia’s King, Yang DiPertuan Agung Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah. He was given a 21-gun salute upon arrival at Parliament Square.
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Photo Credit: Mohd Najib Tun Razak, Twitter
After that, it was off to Istana Negara for an audience with the King and Queen of Malaysia, followed by a state banquet.
On Sunday, Obama and Najib attended the launch of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC) in Cyberjaya. The MaGIC facility is a one-stop centre to facilitate entrepreneurs in starting and growing their businesses. Services offered include help in developing start-ups, obtaining funds, providing guidance and training, and more. At the event, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that in honour of Obama’s visit, the field in front of the MaGIC headquarters will be named the ‘Obama Oval’.
Later on, the President met with a select group of young leaders from all 10 Asean nations at a town hall session at University Malaya. The 103 participants representing the Youth Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) were joined by 300 others at the meeting. YSEALI is the brainchild of Obama, to build relationships across South-East Asia through the engagement of youths.
Photo Credit: Khairy Jamaluddin, Twitter
During his two-day visit, Obama also visited the US Embassy, held official talks with Prime Minister Najib, attended a bilateral meeting at the Kompleks Seri Perdana in Putrajaya, held a joint press conference with Malaysia’s Prime Minister, also at the Seri Perdana, and visited the Masjid Negara with the Grand Imam of the National Mosque Tan Sri Syaikh Ismail Muhammad. The President also witnessed the signing of MoUs between US and Malaysian companies.
During his short visit in Malaysia, the social media world went crazy re-tweeting a picture uploaded by Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, which showed the President eyeing a platter of fruits which had a durian in it. According to Khairy, the President refrained from tasting the King of fruits as he had already tasted it before. Khairy also said that Obama thought the taste of durian was alright but the smell reminded him of a “combination of cheese and old socks”.
Photo Credit: Khairy Jamaluddin, Twitter
Not to be left out, Najib also uploaded a ‘selfie’ taken with Obama on his twitter account.
Photo Credit: Mohd Najib Tun Razak, Twitter
Obama departed for Manila this morning at 10.20am.
Watch Obama’s inspirational quote during the town hall session with YSEALI:
Watch Obama’s toast during the state banquet with the King and Queen of Malaysia:
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