(Nov 20): Young leaders from Malaysia are excited at the prospect of asking pertinent questions to Barack Obama during a town hall meet this afternoon, including what he will do if he were at the centre of a financial scandal as massive as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Many also want to ask the US president's motives in pushing for Malaysia to sign the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, in particular to find out why negotiations were shrouded in secrecy.
Jayanthi Palani, 23, said she was hoping to ask the 1MDB question and also to hear the president's thoughts about the entire Cabinet reshuffle that saw Datuk Seri Najib Razak sacking his deputy.
She is anticipating, however, that if she gets the chance to put her questions through, Obama would give a "politically correct" answer.
"I am just concerned that he will say he can't talk about it because [it's] an ongoing investigation.
"That is what he said when asked about the prosecution against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the last town hall session.
"But I would like to hear his views about Malaysia being at the centre of the 1MDB financial scandal and the RM2.6 billion political donation into the prime minister's account," Jayanthi said, adding that there was added pressure among friends to ask questions that concern the Malaysian public.
Lawyer Melissa Sasidaran, who just returned from a six-week stint in Washington, as a professional fellow under the US' Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), also has the RM2.6 billion in mind for the US president.
"I want to ask him what he would do if he were in Najib's shoes and embroiled in the 1MDB scandal," she told The Malaysian Insider during a YSEALI networking session last night.
Five hundred participants under YSEALI from ten Asean countries have convened in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day summit, with the highlight being an audience with Obama this afternoon.
The summit, which ends Sunday, is to discuss challenges faced in Southeast Asia and how young people can work across national borders to develop solutions.
Engineering student Bernard Goh, 19, meanwhile, wants to ask Obama this: If someone wants to donate to Najib, what should the proper process be?
He said while it was common in the US for companies to donate to political candidates, the practice undermined democracy.
"In Malaysia, they are saying GLCs can donate to politicians but when someone donates huge amounts of money, there is bound to be a policy shift of sort to favour that company.
"We want to ensure an environment where politicians serve the people and not the companies," he told The Malaysian Insider.
Goh also wants to ask the president about the ethics in drafting the TPP in secrecy and what part of the deal was signed under the table that the general public did not know about.
"My question is why wasn't it drafted in public and what did the American and Malaysian authorities agree under the table that people don't know about.
"And what are the long term consequences, we all know that medicare might be subject to exploitation, and so far, there is no guarantee this will not happen," he added.
Lecturer Lyana Khairuddin, 32, also wants to know why the TPP deal lacked transparency during its five-year negotiating process, and why limited stakeholders were consulted on it, especially in terms of drugs and patent protection.
"We keep hearing that drug prices will increase, not overnight, but in the next five to ten years, as new drugs enter the market and their patents are protected for a longer period.
"I understand negotiations for drug pricing on TPP was only done with big pharma companies, why wasn't health providers involved in this consultation?
"Obama talks about democracy and engaging people, but it did not happen in this trade deal, it does not appear to be democratically negotiated at all," she said of the TPP.
Detractors of the controversial 12-nation deal have claimed it will cause negative economic growth and have implications on the country's sovereignty.
International Islamic University student Nursyahirah Khanum, 20, wants to ask Obama what he was doing to reduce Islamophobia among Americans.
She said while she was aware that the Malaysian public might want the young leaders to ask more questions that concern the country currently, the English language student did not think it would do any good asking the US president to comment on the country's internal politics and corruption issues.
"I think it defeats the purpose to ask Obama to comment on what is happening in the country.
"This is a Southeast Asian summit on regional issues, our problems are internal, stemming from the Cabinet itself," she said. – The Malaysian Insider