Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will attend the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which will be held in Sri Lanka from the 15th to the 17th of next month, foreign media reported.

“We have confirmation that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will be attending CHOGM next month,” said Foreign Ministry’s assistant secretary for the South Asian desk, Mashitah Ahmad when contacted by phone.

There have been calls by certain parties for Malaysia to boycott the meeting following Sri Lanka’s alleged war crimes against its Tamil population.

Yesterday, Suaram advisor Kua Kia Soong made the call because Malaysia sponsors the World Moderate Movement and has even formed a war crimes tribunal against the US and Britain – for their invasion into Iraq.

Four days ago a coalition of Indian NGOs also urged Najib to boycott the meet due to alleged human rights abuses committed by the Sri Lankan government against the countries’ Tamil minorities.

Former Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran expressed that he was pessimistic about Najib boycotting the meeting as Malaysia had abstained from voting on the UN resolution against the island nation last year.

Besides Canada, Kenya has also indicated that they will not be attending and are lobbying Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia to join the boycott, FMT reported.