NAJIB'S BURDEN: Rosmah, Altantuya, Maira & the RING that refuses to be forgotten

Ever since the UMNO-BN failed to win a two-thirds majority in the 2008 election, losing a further three states to the Opposition, it has acted very erratically.

It became clumsy and the most revealing of its nervousness is the handling of the scandals involving its key leaders especially party president, Prime Minister Najib Razak and his family. Try as he did and with the best and most expensive media consultants money could buy, Najib still failed to damage control for himself, his wife Rosmah Mansor and his UMNOparty.

Many of the most intriguing scandals have been the ones involving Rosmah Mansor, the First Lady of Malaysia or FLOM as she styles herself to be. Not only was she accused of having been at the scene of probably the most controversial-ever murder case in Malaysia's or perhaps even the world's history - the Altantuya and Scorpenes scandal, Rosmah is also infamous because of a gargantuan RM24mil diamond ring!

Go to any ceramah (small rally) in any part of the country, even in the remotest interior, just mention her name and the crowd will respond with a stifled giggle "cincin" (or ring). 'Ya, Rosmah cincin'. FLOM and her ring have become inseparable. Perhaps even to her dying day, sorry to say, the ring of fire will be what she will be remembered for.

Damage control backfired again

It could be that Najib's media advisers and strategists didn't realize it when they tried to whitewash her connection to the ring by getting the New York-based jewellery firm to deny that she had bought it as widely speculated.

The NY firm said the ring was actually meant for Rosmah's in-law, Maira Nazarbayev, whose son Daniyar is due to marry Rosmah's daughter Nooryana.

But instead of giving FLOM a clean bill of health, the 'clarification' - whether it came from New York, Mongolia or Timbuktu - only reignited interest and talk of how spendthrift Rosmah allegedly is.

Her legendary shopping sprees around the world and the first couple's frequent use of 'freebies' at the people's expense - such as using the government private jet for their personal holidays and charging private functions to the Treasury - again became the talk of town.

Ring is Rosmah and Rosmah is the ring of fire

As far as Malaysians are concerned, the RM24 mil ring of fire is Rosmah and Rosmah is the ring. Her denials don't seem to count for anything. Whether it was Maira or some other friendly party who imported the ring to Malaysia, it does not matter to the people. What matters is that the cincin passed through her very capable hands and everyone believes she is more than able to afford to buy one or even a dozen if she chose to.

Perhaps, the RM24mil ring would be sitting in her bedroom if the scandal had not leaked, and if it was not this ring, she would probably have 'money laundered' her funds through another piece of jewellery! This is the talk buzzing in the coffee shops around the country, reflecting the sad reality of what Malaysians think of their FLOM. And by extension, her husband and his party. Their repeated denials seem to count for nothing.

The 61-year old Rosmah has broken the all the records. No other spouse has been as controversial as she. The wives of Malaysia's previous 5 prime ministers have all behaved with decorum, and never has the media or Opposition ever gone after them with such intensity. For example, the wife of 4th premier Mahathir Mohamad was always highly-respected although in some business circles, she carried the nickname of 'Madam 10 Percent'.

But Rosmah, with her mischief-making and bossy ways, literally gave new meaning to the FLOM position. Not only did she snatch the title which constitutionally belongs to the Malaysian Queen for her own use, she is not at all shy to throw her weight around wherever she goes.

Many in the political circles have heard the story of how before Mahathir confirmed giving the post of Deputy Prime Minister to Najib in the early 2000s, he had summoned Najib to see him. Mahathir was brutal, he demanded that Najib divorced Rosmah. Obviously - if the story is true, that is - Najib had refused.

It is something that perhaps - should Najib ever hark back on this purported incident - he might regret given that the weighty Rosmah is now literally a millstone around his already about-to-snap political neck.

Too shallow a grave

Apart from the alleged dastardly involvement in the Altantuya murder, Rosmah's dealings with 'toy-boys' Deepak Jaikishan and Jho Low, giving haughty orders to government and even military officials, Birkin handbags, 'buy-everything' shopping sprees and even her honorary Doctorate degree from Australia's Curtin University are often the talk of town.

But why can't Najib and UMNO bury the ghost of the RM24mil ring? Is the grave they dug too shallow, just like Altantuya's? And Altantuya's body was bombed to bits all over the jungle clearing where she was killed.

The answer is actually quite simple. People just don't believe the explanations given thus far that Rosmah was not involved in some way or other in either the ring episode or in the Altantuya murder.

For the ring, people simply know that RM24mil is 'nothing' to her. And given the billions her husband has been accused of corruptly ferreting, it would make sense for her to invest heavily in top-grade jewellery.

As for Altantuya, it is even simpler. Why would two of her former bodyguards suddenly seek out Altantuya, shoot and then bomb her with restricted-use military-grade C4 explosives? Isn't more plausible they would have received orders from someone else in power? And who in power had greater connection to the Mongolian lady, who was threatening to blow the whistle on the Scorpene submarines acquisition that Najib had sanctioned - than the Najibs themselves and their close friend Razak Baginda?

Counter-attack from Najib's media strategists

Some say if Rosmah had clarified right from the start that the ring was brought into Malaysia to be shown to Maira, and remain persistent with that explanation, the issue could have fizzled out by now. A rather naive conclusion and only plausible if Najib had spotless track record instead of one that has been controversial and frequently marred by corruption allegations. Even so, this probably formed the basis for the 'counter-attack' from the 'ring division' in Rosmah's publicity unit.

So why didn't Rosmah tell the 'truth' right from the start? Well, apart from the probability that it wasn't the 'truth' after all, Rosmah and UMNO could have panicked, and therefore reacted erratically.

First, she denied the allegations and someone in authority even forced the Customs Department to erase all records of the ring's importation. The officer-in-charge was even questioned but it was too late to contain the scandal by then. The 'print-screen' invoices were already splashed all over cyber space. Rosmah's denial could only sound really fake especially when she had the temerity to insist the documents could 'not be trusted'.

Of Maira and the 'dead cat' Rosmah ate

But why did Rosmah panic? Some insiders say it was because Maira was involved. Herself scandal-tainted and the object of an alleged lawsuit by her husband, Maira's name could not be brought up at that time, so the cyber talk goes.

This was why Rosmah decided to 'eat the dead cat' - a Chinese phrase for taking the blame. The FLOM then proceeded to tell the government media that she had bought the ring with money from her own savings since school days. But at 61 years of age, that was too much for even gullible Malaysians to swallow. Rosmah was really asking for it.

Later, the FLOM swerved again, this time denying the ring was ever in her possession. But when more information was exposed, and as the latest statement from the NY jeweller Jacob & Co showed the ring had indeed been sent to Malaysia, she was found to have lied yet again.

Of course, the additional new information is the claim that the ring was meant to be for Maira. However, taken together with the past speculation that the ring was allegedly a gift from Maira to Rosmah as part of Nooryana's engagement dowry, really the paper trail and the excuses raised so far have become mind-boggling. And totally unbelievable.

Ring is a major issue, make no mistake

Some people have put the blame on the Opposition for rehashing the ring issue. But it must be pointed that it was Raja Petra Kamaruddin who posted the interview with the NY jeweller on his website. And RPK is now firmly on the UMNO side of the fence although to which particular camp - Mahathir's or Najib's - it is hard to fathom.

Maybe Mahathir is trying to help Najib clean up the issue of Rosmah's gargantuan ring - which if one attends theceramah circuit, one would realize is really a big issue contributing to UMNO's huge unpopularity.

Sad to say, the latest ruse won't work because Malaysians no longer seem to believe in whatever Najib or UMNO has to say. It is like the NST headline trumpeting the BN's recently-launched manifesto - 'It all boils down to Trustworthiness'. In this case, there seems to be none felt for the first couple. Ring or no ring. Maira or no Maira. Full stop.

Possibly, the only way to regain public trust would be if Najib were to call for a truly independent Royal Commission of Inquiry into his alleged role in the Altantuya and Scorpenes scandals or to remove any or all obstacles to the government's re-opening of the Altantuya murder investigation. Otherwise, any effort would a waste of time, money and only backfire at the end of the day.

Malaysia Chronicle