Najib laughs with Obama as he fumbles over word 'proliferation'
Astro Awani
April 27, 2014 10:41 MYT
April 27, 2014 10:41 MYT
Obama and Najib on stage
There were a few light moments during the joint press conference by US president Barack Obama and his counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Razak this afternoon.
While explaining the two country’s plans on global security and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, Najib turned pink-faced when he fumbled over the word “proliferation”.
As he repeated the word three times, a smiling Obama came to the rescue. “It’s a hard one. I always screw that up," the US leader said.
Waving his hands, Najib laughed and promptly continued speaking.
Replacing the word with a simpler “spread” instead, Najib promised the audience: “I’ll get it right. Don’t worry.”
Earlier in his speech, Najib also chose to greet Obama by saying “Selamat datang, sahabat saya” (Welcome my friend), adding that the Obama was “one of the few world leaders who will understand those words” (as the latter was raised in Indonesia).
During his speech, Najib had talked about how Malaysia has developed since the last visit by a US president as, Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1966.
When Najib mentioned how the Monkees single ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ were topping the US charts then, Obama interjected: “It’s a good song!”