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Rosmah oh Rosmah Ready, Get Jet, Go!

By Kee Thuan Chye

Rosmah oh Rosmah, you are so endearing that Malaysians love you. So much that they arequestioning why you used the Governments jet to fly to Qatar for the International BusinessWomen Forum earlier this month. And why you took with you the MP Azalina Othman, yourhubbys special adviser Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and several ministers wives.

Minister Shahidan Kassim said you went on official business, and that the Cabinet approvedyour use of the jet. Your own special officer Siti Azizah said you went to Qatar in the nationalinterest.

She even explained what she meant: It was not for personal reasons. [Rosmah] does notrepresent the Government, but she went there for the sake of the Governments interest. She isthe prime ministers wife, she went to give the keynote address [at the forum]. So she made theaddress not as a government representative, but in the national interest.

Not a government representative and yet doing it in the national interest? Hmmmm can what,right? Why not? Even many ordinary Malaysians go overseas to do things in the national interestwithout their even knowing it what, right? Like when they go on holiday and tell the foreignersthey meet what a nice country Malaysia is or how delicious Malaysian food is. Thats in thenational interest. Thats boosting tourism.

But your critics say there is no law that allows the prime ministers wife to represent Malaysia inforeign diplomatic affairs, and you are neither a member of the Government nor an electedmember of Parliament. Yet you had a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah toextend to him your hubbys invitation to visit Malaysia next year. Surely, it wasnt a personalinvitation?

And then that girl Azalina said in Parliament that you were invited to Qatar in your personalcapacity. Personal capacity means it was not official business. It appeared contradictory to whatShahidan had claimed. Why did she say that? Its not good for your case. Why did she go toQatar, anyway? And the ministers wives? And why was attending an Islamic fashion show partof your itinerary?

Oohhh, maybe after delivering your keynote address, you wanted to chill out with your gang, mixa little pleasure with business. Well, why not? Whats wrong with that? Maybe you brought thegang along to give them exposure to the high li fe. This would also be in the national interest too,wouldnt it? Dont we want our ministers wives to be savvy and sophisticated?

Well, but people say if you were not on official business, not representing the Government, youshouldnt be entitled to using the government jet. They say the wives of past prime ministersnever used their VIP position to request the use of the facility for personal use. Why should yoube an exception?

But that is so trivial, isnt it? Aiya, if Siti Hasmah, Jeanne and the late Endon didnt takeadvantage of the opportunity when they could, thats their own loss, isnt it? If they didnt want toget involved in government business, that was also their own choice. Youre not like them, youwant to contribute. You cant stand by and see your husband do all the donkeys work. You have

to be the supportive jenny.

And if you and your hubby work so hard all for the sake of the country, not for yourselves whats wrong with a little luxury when youre travelling abroad? Besides, there are good reasons.

First, its not every day that anyone can get to become the prime ministers wife. Second, youre

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the self-styled First Lady, so why shouldnt you be treated as such? You look regal enough forthe part, dont you? With your upturned chin and your huge, ball-shaped hairdo? They should becalling you Queen Rosmah, no? Not as in royalty of course, but as a moniker. You know, like thatof the actress Queen Latifah.

Third, when you land at your destination, youll need to be fresh to see to the work ahead. Forinstance, giving a keynote address might take only about half an hour, but its still work. Thegovernment jet will provide you the amenities to help you feel rested and relaxed, and avoid jet

lag. It makes sense. So whats the beef?

Its right what you told the media: Im happy, Im just going to do my work. Ya, right. Work. Whatdo they know?

You were also right in telling them: I dont talk, I dont comment, I dont go down to that level. Ofcourse, what can you say, right?

Now we know why your hubby is often quiet when he should be making statements aboutimportant national issues. He must have learned this virtue from you. Like right now lah. So muchhoo-ha about your jet ride and also about his spending so much money on his overseas trips,

and he has kept his mouth shut. He only lets his lackeys do the talking. Thats the way.

He is, after all, the prime minister. He has the power to decide things where to go, how much tospend, whether to eat, say, Beluga caviar (if you both want to, that is) instead of simple ikura. Andtheres no one to check him. Because hes also the finance minister. He can choose how tospend the peoples money, and no one can stop him.

Ya lah, it will cost a bit more to take the government jet, but Malaysia is a rich country with plentyof natural resources. Paying for a jet ride is sahp sahp soei. Why are people griping aboutpennies? Especially when the returns are greater?

And Shahidan seems to think that they are. He talks appreciatively about the work you put in.The both of you must be very close. He said the outcome of your visit to Qatar was very positive.We must be proud and thankful for the efforts and hard work put in by the prime ministers wife. Avisit to a foreign country is not for fun. It involves a lot of responsibilities.

He scolded the media for creating hatred against you. He felt sad about it. How many investorscan you bring to Malaysia? he challenged reporters. Nothing! [Rosmah] has done so much forthe country for free. If you are so good, you try bringing investors here.

He tries so hard, kesian dia. He even said: She has built this country. Wah lau eh! Er butdont you think hes a bit overboard on this? I mean, objectively speaking?

OK, so your critics say you have no business representing the country because you are not anelected representative. Why dont you show them at the next general election by standing as acandidate? You are so well-loved, you will surely win. Maybe you can do it earlier, if aparliamentary by-election comes up in the interim. And if you win, your hubby can make you aminister. Then you can be a jet-setter and no one can bitch about it.

Alternatively, someone whos doing fantastic business could be kind enough to buy you yourown private jet. Maybe someone like Syed Mokhtar? Then people will not kacauyou any more.Or will they still do so? Well, if they do, it can only be because they love you so much. True ornot?

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the new bookThe Elections Bullshit, now available inbookstores.