Malaysian PM to skip ASEAN summit

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will not attend the upcoming ASEAN summit this week in Brunei, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Senate President Abu Zahar Ujang will lead the delegation of Malaysia as prime minister's special representative, the ministry said.

"The Malaysian delegation will comprise senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of International Trade and Industry Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture and the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department." the statement read.

Abu Zahar Ujang is scheduled to attend the 22nd ASEAN Summit Retreat, the Ninth Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Phillippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit and the Seventh Indonesia- Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit, among other official events.

The 22nd ASEAN Summit will be held on April 24-25 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam under Brunei's chairmanship.

Najib is on a busy schedule traveling across the country to secure a victory for his ruling Barisan Nasional, or National Front in Malaysia's 13th general election to be held on May. 5. Barisan hopes to retake a two-third majority in the parliament it lost in the 2008 general election, while the opposition, led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, is eyeing a historical regime change for the first time since the country's independence in 1957.