KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will not attend the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit held in Singapore this week, instead delegating former deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam to lead the Malaysian delegation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
Musa Hitam will be accompanied by officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry as well as the Prime Minister's Department, said the statement.
The ministry did not specify the reason of Najib's absence, but the nomination day for the upcoming general election falls on Saturday, when candidates are expected to submit their nomination papers. Najib, who has been the Member of Parliament in Pekan of the Malaysian state of Pahang for four decades, is expected to return to his constituency on that day.
Najib, who is seeking a new mandate for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, is also expected to begin his election campaign soon after the nomination. The polling day falls on May 9.
Najib is the second leader among ASEAN members to skip the summit, held from Friday to Saturday. It is reported that Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who attended the summit last year in the Philippines, will also skip the Singapore summit. Myanmar President Win Myint will attend instead.
The upcoming summit will be the first meeting of ASEAN leaders under Singapore's Chairmanship for the year 2018. Leaders are expected to deliberate on ASEAN solidarity and the organisation's ability to navigate emerging challenges such as terrorism and violent extremism, with the theme "Resilient and Innovative."
Several meetings of different levels, such as the Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting, will precede the summit.
