Trump came, danced and left, leaving Asean (and Anwar) to carry on
The group must keep its focus as it weathers a choppy year of tariffs, political tensions, escalating costs and slowing trade
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US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s diplomatic meetings tend to be memorable. From Kyiv to Pretoria, they show how quickly diplomacy can turn into performance.
In Kuala Lumpur – no stranger to spectacle – the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit opened on Sunday (Oct 26) as motorcades swept through closed roads and highways, security personnel lined the streets, and leaders from the regional bloc and beyond filed in.
This time, Trump came and went peacefully, without awkward optics and with a bit of groove – his trademark dance was even dubbed Joget Penumbuk (Boxer’s Dance).
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