A YouTube video claims that the prime minister of Malaysia met with Vice President Sara Duterte in October, supposedly to sign a pact and enter into an alliance. This is not true.
It was not Malaysia’s premier who visited the Office of the Vice President (OVP) but Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Ahmad Zahid Bin Hamidi. It was the customary courtesy call and did not involve the forging of an alliance between Zahid and Duterte.
Uploaded on Oct. 20, the video’s headline read:
“BREAKING NEWS! KumiL0s na Sila! Malaysian P.M. at VpSara Sanib-Pwersa na? Palasy0 Kamara Paheya (They already took action! Malaysian PM and VP Sara have joined forces? Palace, Congress are embarrassed).”
Its thumbnail also bore photos of Zahid and Duterte along with this text:
“LAHAT NA-SHOCKED? BUMISITA MISMO SA OVP NI VPSARA. MALAYSIAN P.M. PUMIRMA NASA OVP (Everyone got shocked! Visited VP Sara’s OVP itself. Malaysian PM already signed with the OVP)!”
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who also serves as Minister for Rural and Regional Development, was on an official visit to the Philippines from Oct. 14 to 16 to discuss enhancing cooperation on education and disaster response efforts between the two countries. The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced details of the official visit ahead of his arrival, including the call on the OVP.
During his visit, Zahid paid courtesy calls on both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Duterte. Marcos hosted a ministerial reception in his honor.
He also attended the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Manila from Oct. 14 to 18.
In an Oct. 17 Facebook (FB) post, the OVP wrote that Zahid and Duterte’s meeting involved discussions on regional cooperation in addressing drug trafficking and climate change, as well as improving disaster risk reduction and technical-vocational education training.
There was no mention of a signing of any agreement or forging an alliance with the vice president in the official news releases on Zahid’s visit from both the Presidential Communications Office and Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Uploaded by YouTube channel PINAS NEWS INSIDER, the video received 210,093 interactions. FB users also reposted the link.
VERA Files Fact Check has previously debunked claims on foreign leaders supposedly forming alliances with Duterte.
