The United States is exploring the possibility of a visit by president Donald Trump to Malaysia in November.

This was revealed by White House National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Matthew Pottinger, as reported in The Star Online.

"Trump looks forward to deepening our comprehensive partnership with Malaysia

"We’ve got of course the Asean summit coming up later this year, so we’re exploring the possibilities right now for the president’s follow-on travel in November," he was quoted as saying.

Pottinger also said he had conveyed a letter of congratulations from Trump to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The 33rd Asean summit will be taking place in Singapore from Nov 11 to 15.

The previous BN administration, under the leadership of then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, had been friendly to the US.

Najib had visited Trump in the US last year, promising multibillion ringgit investments in the country.

In contrast, Mahathir, who leads the new Pakatan Harapan government, has been more cautious of the US president.

Mahathir had described Trump as someone who changes his mind overnight, stating that it was difficult to work with such people.

When Mahathir led the government between 1981 to 2003, the country’s foreign policy was largely neutral, save for his occasional rows with Western countries.