Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan has asked why the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) did not mention ‘Malaysian Official 1' (MO1) by name.

Referring to his interview with BBC published on its website yesterday, he said it was obvious the so-called 'MO1' referred to by the DOJ was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"Many others were also referred to by the DOJ. But, critically, none of them, including MO1, were named as subjects of the investigation.

"As any lawyer will confirm, the difference between being named as the subject of a civil lawsuit, and merely being referred to, in an investigation, is black and white," he said in a statement here.

However, Rahman, who is also Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications director, said after comprehensive investigations by multiple authorities, the prime minister had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

"So, the evidence is clear and Tun Mahathir's (former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's) smears will fail once again, just as all his attempts to topple Malaysia's democratically-elected government have failed miserably," he said.

Abdul Rahman said Dr Mahathir and his new allies in the opposition were deliberately mixing the two up to deceive Malaysians.

"The failed protests their proxies organised, asking who MO1 was, are irrelevant, as MO1 was not named as the subject of any DOJ civil suit," he said.

On Aug 27, a lacklustre, illegal anti-government rally in the federal capital was not well-received.

Only 1,500 people joined in the rally, as compared to the initial target of 10,000, which was later reduced to 5,000, less than 24 hours before the rally started.