Where’s the millions given to Permata?

Did Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak raise the Permata issue as a pre-emptive strike because Rosmah Mansor wants more?

COMMENT

Either Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has a death wish or he has political retards as advisers. Else how do you explain his out-of-the-blue defence of Permata.

Has anyone raised the issue of Permata recently? Why did he suddenly take a pre-emptive strike against the opposition?

It sounds like he is “preparing” for future attacks by the opposition on the unprecedented millions channelled to Permata, which is headed by his missus.

Isn’t this odd? It’s like handing your opponent in a badminton game a “bola tanggung” or a return that will allow your opponent to smash.

Of course, we will respond since it is he who has raised the issue.

But the question is why did he make this pre-emptive strike? Could it be that Permata has obtained allocations and is asking for more? And to do what? may we ask.

Permata has opened up 56 centres for incubating four-year-olds to become some sort of gifted children. Since 2009, Permata has received on average RM130 million a year.

It has since received probably more than RM350 million.

Pray tell, is Permata a ministry? Or at least a unit in a ministry? If it is under a ministry, then why isn’t the Education Minister monitoring Permata’s operations?

Isn’t Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin as clever as Rosmah Mansor?

The next question is, where did the allocations come from?

Where did funds go?

The “OK” came from Parliament. Which makes it the responsibility of MPs to ask how was the money applied.

What has Permata achieved thus far? How was the money spent? What happened to the 608 children who graduated in 2012?

Where have they gone?

So many questions and rightfully so. Because never in our history, has any wife of a sitting prime minister received allocation from Parliament to promote a pet idea.

Will feeding the children croissants each morning or having English or American breakfast with toast, eggs, beef bacon and baked beans turn these children into super clever youngsters?

Will these children go to Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Cambridge and Oxford?

The rakyat deserves to know how Rosmah spent the allocation. Given her penchant for spending and shopping, of course we have the right to know.

Has the bulk of the money gone into the construction of the 56 centres or are they existing premises belonging to others that have been refurbished and renovated?

In which case how much was spent in the construction? Or was the money spent on rings and a RM80 million Liberace piano?

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman but has now joined DAP. He is a FMT columnist.