Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and BN leaders have made much of his recent visit to the White House.

To everyone's bafflement, Najib has lauded as great and positive the huge amounts of taxpayers' and EPF money he committed to the US economy. But he returned without obtaining any reciprocal investment by the US in Malaysia.

Such reciprocal investment is the lifeblood of a developing economy such as ours. It creates jobs and generates income. Not even a vague commitment to do so was obtained from US President Donald Trump.

Is it so impressive to take our money and invest it overseas? No foreign economy, including the US, will turn down such a gift on a silver platter.

More disturbingly, Najib proudly announced that Trump called him his “friend.” It is surprising that our prime minister is so inordinately proud of friendship with the most Islamophobic US president in American history? Has Najib forgotten about Trump's infamous “Muslim ban”?

Najib has announced that he had spoken to Trump about the Rohingya issue. It is not difficult and quite safe to do so, as it is a humanitarian issue.

But why did Najib not raise the issue of the Muslim ban? Few of us can doubt that the sharp-spoken Dr Mahathir Mohamad would have done so if given such an opportunity.

There has been a 91 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims under Trump's presidency. Did Najib express concern his concerns to his “friend” Trump?

Trump has repeatedly shown zealous support for Israel, and contempt for just cause of the oppressed Palestinians. He has given support for shifting Israel’s capital to Jerusalem, which is an act of extreme provocation to the Muslim world. Did Najib speak up for the Palestinians to his “friend” Trump?

These are the matters which concern Malaysia and its people, which were never raised by Najib when given a chance. Had he done so, he would have returned to a genuine hero’s welcome from Malaysians of all walks of life. We may be a small nation, but we have always stood up for what is right in the international arena.

There is nothing for Malaysians to be proud of in Najib’s much-touted White House outing.