For now, Trump`s immigration order isn`t expected to directly hit political or economic ties with either country but it could bring longer-term social costs. "While Trump`s policies may not affect bilateral relations, it will certainly sway public perception, against the U.S," Arul Hadi Abdullah, Malaysia analyst at BowerGroupAsia, told CNBC in anticipation of the ban on Friday. Many expect Trump`s policies, perceived as unjust and discriminatory, could result in a decline of American soft power in Muslim-majority regions, which former U.S. leader Barack Obama attempted to carefully rebuild in the aftermath of the Bush regime. Politicians in Malaysia, where 60 percent of the 28 million-strong population is Muslim, also voiced concern about the move. Syrian refugees were indefinitely banned, while refugees from the other six countries faced a three-month hold.

10:26Trump is facing mounting criticism for his ban on all Syrian refugees entering the US and a halt on arrivals from a string of mostly Muslim countries, Guardian staff report. The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced it would be filing a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the order ?because its apparent purpose and underlying motive is to ban people of the Islamic faith from Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States?. Chuck Schumer, Democratic leader in the Senate, said:Tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty tonight as a grand tradition of America, welcoming immigrants, that has existed since America was founded, has been stomped upon. The US president?s executive order, named Protection of the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, places a 90-day block on entry to the US from citizens from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.