Malaysian, Philippine leaders belt out warmer relations

“There’s a boy in my mind and he knows I’m thinkin’ of him,” croons a hip-swivelling Malaysian leader Najib Razak.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak left, greets Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a welcoming ceremony on Thursday. Picture: AFP

“There’s a boy in my mind and he knows I’m thinkin’ of him,” croons a hip-swivelling Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, glancing at Philippines strongman Rodrigo Duterte as they stand side-by-side on stage.

It is a scenario satirists might barely dare to imagine, yet one that played out in Kuala Lumpur this week when arguably Southeast Asia’s most controversial leaders sealed their growing ­alliance with a karaoke session at the end of a state dinner.

Videos of the event, uploaded by a Philippines presidential ­adviser, show a distinctly awkward Duterte in trademark white shirt strangling out a tuneless version of Bette Midler’s Wind Beneath My Wings. In ­another, Duterte and his host, Najib, take the stage together to sing a version of the Wynners 1975 hit, Shalala Lala.

While Duterte looks stiff and uncomfortable, a blue-suited Najib grooves in classic Dad style, swaying his hips and pointing to his audience like a faded boy band singer while government aides from both sides doo-wop in the background.

The “karaoke diplomacy” — as one Malaysian aide dubbed it — was the culmination of a state visit by Duterte to a country with which The Philippines has not always seen eye-to-eye, given a dispute over ownership of North Borneo and concerns over piracy in the Sulu Sea. But, in a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, it seems the leaders have found common ground in their deteriorating relationship with the US under the Obama administration.

Both men have made state visits to China in recent weeks, signing trade and military deals in a move widely seen as part of China’s attempt to counter US influence in Southeast Asia.

Both Najib and Duterte were also quick off the mark to ­publicly congratulate Donald Trump on his US presidential election victory this week.

Duterte announced his “separation” from the US last month during a visit to Beijing, while Najib took a thinly veiled swipe at the US administration in the China Daily this month after his own six-day China visit.

“It is not for (larger countries) to lecture countries they once exploited on how to conduct their own internal affairs today,” he wrote in what was widely ­interpreted as a reference to a US Justice Department investigation implicating Najib in the ­alleged misappropriation of more than $US4 billion from state development fund 1MDB.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing and has said Malaysia will co-operate, but the probe has strained ties between the two countries.

During Duterte’s visit the two leaders agreed to enter into “combative endeavours” to ­address maritime security concerns in the Southern Philippines, including the kidnapping activities of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group and armed robbery at sea.

“We talked about how we can secure and enter into combative endeavours with respect to ­protecting at sea along the southern part of The Philippines against piracy, other forms of criminality, hostage taking and so on,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said after bilateral talks. “We have initially talked about what is called in international law as hot pursuit and we will see how far we can go along this line.”

Both Duterte and Najib have also said recently they would be prepared to territorial disputes over the South China Sea through dialogue.

China some 90 per cent of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.