Salleh Said Keruak: Obama was not targeting Najib in Lima speech

Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak

PETALING JAYA: President Barack Obama was making a general reference on US policy and not about 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in his speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Lima, Peru, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.

Salleh said that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Pribumi) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and those opposed to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak were bordering on wishful thinking and being delusional when they said that Obama was referring to the Prime Minister in his speech in Lima, Peru on Wednesday.

"What makes them think that with so many issues to worry about the whole world is focused on just one issue: 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)?

"They are suggesting that with the world facing conflicts and chaos at every corner of the planet, the US President has time for nothing else but for only one issue," Salleh said in a statement on Wednesday.

"First they say Najib is scared of leaving Malaysia for fear that the US will arrest him. Now they say the US President attacked Najib in his speech.

"President Obama actually made a general reference to US policy and was not, as Mahathir says, a direct reference to Najib," he said.

"In fact, what Obama said was that the US cannot interfere in the internal matters of another country. So maybe Obama was referring to Mahathir and not Najib.

"And this contradicts what Mahathir and his people earlier said: which is the US is going to take action against Najib in a US court," he said.

In his speech in Peru, Obama reportedly said there are limits to the US' reach into other countries, giving examples of oppression of people, not providing education to girls and mentioning those who siphon off development funds into Swiss bank accounts because they are corrupted.