Chua ribs PM over Rosmah speech

He says the Hari Raya message was unseemly comedy

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PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak continues to draw ridicule from opposition leaders for allowing his wife, Rosmah Mansor, to deliver a Hari Raya speech that was broadcast on public television.

Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng said today that Najib was not fit to be a national leader because he apparently was not even in control in his own home.

“He cannot even control his wife,” he said, laughing.

Najib was the first Malaysian prime minister to have shared the spotlight with his wife when delivering the customary Hari Raya message.

The programme was divided into three segments—one showing Najib giving his message, another showing Rosmah giving hers and the last part showing the two of them giving a joint message.

The broadcast has been repeated several times since Aug 31.

Chua said it looked more like a comedy show than an official message from a prime minister who was serious about his work.

Chua, a former vice president of MCA, said he was sure that former prime ministers Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi shared his disdain over Rosmah’s attempt to assert her importance.

“The two former premiers must be laughing away, but I don’t think they are happy with such unseemly behaviour.

“I don’t think this has happened anywhere else. China? Singapore? Indonesia? Only in 1Malaysia.”

Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong agreed that Rosmah had no official standing to deliver the speech.

“The prime minister’s wife is not the First Lady,” he said. “She is a private person.”