No harm in Rosmah representing Malaysia abroad, says Putrajaya

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Putrajaya defended today its decision to send Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor for a high-level business meeting overseas recently, a move critics said was inappropriate as the prime minister’s wife holds no government post.

Explaining, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim told the Dewan Rakyat that the Cabinet had agreed to Rosmah representing Malaysia at the 4th Qatar International Business Women Forum in Doha, Qatar, a week ago in a trip financed by taxpayers money.

He said there was nothing wrong with paying for Rosmah’s trip to Doha — where she had travelled using a state-owned private jet — as it was for “official business”.



Federal opposition lawmakers infuriated by the decision are free to challenge it in court, he added.

“Rosmah can use the plane on official business as she represents the country. This is the decision made by the Cabinet.

“You can bring it to court, in this world or the next, no problem,” the minister said in a reply to Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) and Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) during the Budget 2014 committee stage debate.

The two opposition lawmakers also queried Shahidan if there was a law that allows the prime minister’s wife to represent Malaysia in foreign diplomatic affairs but the minister did not reply.

Azmin also pointed out that when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Malaysia in 2010, Rosmah had replaced Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for the meeting as the latter was sick.

This was also deemed an unprecedented move as while Clinton’s visit was officially made in her position as a government leader, Rosmah was neither in government nor an elected representative in Parliament.

Shahidan, however, evaded the question again and merely said the decision of the Cabinet was final.

On October 3, it was disclosed in Parliament that Putrajaya spends RM28.8 million in annual rental and RM5.5 million to maintain the VVIP government jet ACJ319, the private aircraft used to ferry prime ministers much like the Air Forxe One in the US.

On top of that, as much as RM44 million of taxpayers money have been used to fund the prime minister’s overseas travel since 2008.

The revelation came amid Putrajaya’s call for the Malaysian public to “change its lifestyle” and adapt to the government’s spending cuts as it aims to trim down its ballooning debt.

Opposition MPs have branded the call hypocritical since government leaders were still living lavishly as seen from their hefty allowances and huge monthly paychecks.
---ThemalayMail