Malaysian PM Najib Razak hopes India visit will help secure diaspora votes

With an eye on winning over diaspora votes back home, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will visit Chennai followed by Delhi for five-day India trip.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

In Chennai, Razak is expected to meet acting Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao. Razak was also in China recently hoping to win the support of the Chinese community in Malaysia.

Reports state that Razak plans to pre-pone parliamentary elections in his country to 2017 from 2018.

Razak, who shares a good chemistry with Narendra Modi, is also expected to hold a dialogue with the Indian PM on creating an SU-30 Forum as both sides use Russian origin SU-30 fighter jets. Counter-terror cooperation and de-radicalisation initiatives will also get a boost during Razak’s visit with Kaula Lumpur emerging as a key partner in South East Asia handing over fugitives in the past few years.

Delhi and Kuala Lumpur are also planning a firm key defence deal of MiG 29 fighter jets and Malaysian investments in infrastructure and airport projects in India.

Indians comprise 7-8% of the population of Malaysia.