Former president Bill Clinton visited Malaysia on Friday to give his first paid speech since Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, his wife, was selected by President-elect Barack Obama to be the secretary of state on Monday.

The New York Times reports that, “Mr. Clinton spoke before nearly 3,000 people in Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of Vinod Sekhar, a Malaysian businessman whose foundation paid Mr. Clinton $200,000, according to several people with knowledge of the fee. The figure is on the lower end of the scale that Mr. Clinton usually commands for his speeches.”

Mr. Clinton informed the audience that they should be “proud” of Mr. Sekhar, the 40-year-old executive of the Petra Group, a privately-held rubber technology company.

Yet, several angry investors in Great Britain and Malaysia say they dispute the former president’s glowing assessment of Mr. Sekhar, whose company has recently endured a few rough weeks.

Abdul Azim Zabidi, a former board member of the Petra Group, believes that Mr. Sekhar is exploiting his connections with Mr. Clinton and accuses the Malaysian businessman of breaking numerous promises to him, while still owing him $100,000.

Hollywood movie star Bruce Willis had been another investor who recently settled a lawsuit over the return of $900,000. The company claims it was a “misunderstanding.”

Even a member of the Malaysian royal family quit as Petra’s chairman. The abrupt resignation occurred this week after a 10-year partnership. The royal family member pointed out that he was tired of the many “surprises” during his affiliation with the company.

According to the NY Times, “Mr. Sekhar declined to comment. A spokesman for the Petra Group, Andrew Murray-Watson, said that Mr. Zabidi’s assertion that he was still owed money was ‘utter rubbish’ and that the Clinton event was held as a memorial for Mr. Sekhar’s late father, a scientist who invented an environmentally sound way to recycle tires.”

Officials with the Obama transition team admitted they did not vet Mr. Sekhar’s background before Mr. Clinton’s speech. The speech was one of the last Mr. Clinton will deliver before being reviewed by a State Department ethics panel, a requirement he has agreed to obey if Mrs. Clinton is confirmed by the Senate as secretary of state. Mr. Clinton also agreed to reveal his fees from business dealings and foreign speeches to be reviewed by the White House Counsel’s Office, if necessary.

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