Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar has now turned his guns on controversial Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's arrival in the country for an international forum.

In a single message on his public Twitter account this afternoon, he also called for a halt to the function.

"Robert Mugabe tiba di Malaysia. Apa yang kita dapat dengan menjemput pemimpin macam dia? Dah lama dah... patut berhenti dialog cam ni," he wrote in Bahasa Malaysia.

In English, it reads: "Robert Mugabe has arrived in Malaysia. What do we get from inviting leaders like him? It has been a while... this kind of dialogue should be stopped."

langkawi international debate 060807 robert mugabe 02 However, it is unclear what Khairy meant when he said that "it has been a while". The Youth chief also refused to respond when Malaysiakini sought clarification from him.

Mugabe ( left ) arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this morning to attend the Ninth Langkawi International Dialogue in Putrajaya.

The 87-year-old leader is one of the regulars at the LID forum being held for the first time outside the resort island of Langkawi.

Mugabe visit; little international agitation

A brainchild of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad since its inauguration in 1995, he is expected to deliver the keynote address at the three-day LID themed 'Enhancing Smart Partnership for Socio-Economic Transformation'.

Leaders or representatives from 16 countries will attend the LID hosted by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

While Mugabe's arrival in Malaysia did little to stir international criticism, much could not be said for his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir who had to cancel his trip at the eleventh hour amidst protests in his country.

Omar, globally criticised for war crimes and arrest warrants had been issued for him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the war-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Although the Malaysian government has yet to be party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, the government had previously announced its decision to join the organisation.

Meanwhile, Mugabe himself has been reported to be responsible for his country's plummeting economy and escalating ‘hyperinflation' in his country largely due to his socialistic policies as well as violent land seizures from Zimbabwean whites.

Inflation rate in Zimbabwe stood at 7 percent in 1980, but was recorded as 231,150,888.87 percent in 2008. One Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) worth about US$1.25 back then. Now it is 361 ZWD to US$1.