US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left Malaysia today bound for Papua New Guinea where she will hold talks on boosting the status of women and managing an oil and gas windfall.

NONE In Malaysia, Clinton sought to cultivate ties with the moderate, Muslim-majority nation but also pushed for a fair trial for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who faces sodomy charges that he says are a political plot.

Malaysia was the fifth stop on an Asia tour that has taken Clinton to Guam, Vietnam, China and Cambodia. She will later Wednesday arrive in Papua New Guinea, and then travel on to New Zealand, Australia and American Samoa.

The Papua New Guinea trip is the first there by a chief US diplomat since 1998 when Madeleine Albright visited.

Clinton will also discuss ways to fight climate change in the Pacific nation during her talks with Prime Minister Michael Somare and other officials.