The government is sending three top officials to the United States to speak at a seminar on good governance and the rule of law in Malaysia at the invitation of a Washington think-tank.

lingam tape panel meeting 031007 abdul gani patail The trio - Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail ( right ) and former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad - will be speaking next Wednesday in a seminar hosted by bipartisan foreign policy think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The two-hour talk will be kicked off by Malaysia’s new ambassador to the United States, Jamaluddin Jarjis, who has the additional task of being the parliamentarian for Rompin, Pahang.

Abdul Hamid is currently serving as head of the advisory board of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

According to the e-mail invitation sent out by CSIS, Nazri will be giving a keynote speech at the Feb 24 seminar, while Abdul Gani and Abdul Hamid will be part of an experts panel.

Unease over Sodomy II trial

The visit by the three individuals comes in the wake of the controversial second sodomy trial of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim which has drawn some criticism from the Washington establishment.

John Kerry, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had on Monday issued a statement questioning the sodomy charge.

"The current charges closely mirror the ones levied years ago, and have been brought soon after Anwar's resumption of his role as elected member of parliament and leader of the parliamentary opposition."

He called on Kuala Lumpur to ensure “a fair and equitable resolution of the legal proceedings” and to resolve Anwar’s case “in a manner that builds confidence in the impartiality and credibility of the Malaysian judicial system

Malaysia is also trying to woo foreign capital after foreign investors withdrew US$35 billion between the second quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009.

It is expected that last week's caning of three Muslim women for illicit sex will also be a topic of discussion at the seminar.

Last year, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had to field questions on an earlier caning sentence meted out to a woman for drinking beer when he spoke to fund managers in New York.