‘Green’ Rosmah hit by Twitter tsunami

The self-styled First Lady has come under attack from Twitter users over her comments regarding the tragedy in Japan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Self-styled First Lady Rosmah Mansor has come under fire from the Twitter community after a video of her commenting on the disaster in Japan began making its rounds on the Internet.

In the video aired over Astro Awani, Rosmah had allegedly said that the tragedy was a result of carelessness in implementing environmentally-friendly planning and development in the country.

She was also quoted as stating that the catastrophe should serve as a lesson for Japan and other countries, saying the disaster was a result of rapid development and climate change.

The wife of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak also urged nations to have a thorough and well-structured development planning, and to consider climate change and green technology.

The video of her, shot at the International School Kuala Lumpur’s recent “Walk For Children: 1Malaysia Goes Green” event, was aired on Astro Awani just after the tragedy struck Japan and picked up by TV Selangor (see video).
Responding to her comments, the Malaysian Twitter community took Rosmah to task, with some even commenting about her hairstyle and that her hairspray contained CFC which was not environmentally-friendly.
“Rosmah, our very own expert on green technology, doesn’t seem to know earthquakes and tsunamis are natural disasters,” read one Tweet.

“Congrats, Malaysia – we’re officially dumbasses. Thanks, Rosmah!” stated another.

There were also Twitters who urged Najib to keep his wife in check, while one tweet claimed that the only green technology Rosmah was familiar with was the “greenback” or US dollar.

Even local celebrities jumped on the bandwagon, with well-known actor and radio personality Patrick Teoh reminding Rosmah that “her husband approved a rare earth processing plant in Malaysia.”

Singer-songwriter Pete Teo Tweeted, “Thousands of lives destroyed in horrific watery graves. And FLOM (First Lady of Malaysia) puts her foot in her mouth. Sigh. Malaysia Boleh.”

Rosmah’s comments were also reported on CNN’s citizen journalism wing, iReport.

Commenting on the matter, PKR MP Johari Abdul expressed shock, saying that the wives of previous prime ministers never interfered in such matters.

“Look at (Dr) Siti Hasmah Ali (wife of Dr Mahathir Mohamad), she never got herself embroiled in any controversies, similarly Jeanne Abdullah (wife of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi).

“Everytime she (Rosmah) opens her mouth, it becomes a problem for the government, just keep quiet and play your role as a wife and not try to be a ruler,” he told reporters in Parliament.

The Sungai Petani MP also called on Najib to “control” his wife to prevent her from embarassing the government and nation.

Sendai, the capital city of the Miyagi prefecture, was hit by a 9.0 megathrust earthquake last Friday. This created an extremely destructive tsunami of up to 10 metres. The earthquake also triggered nuclear shutdowns, meltdowns and failures in power plants across Japan.

The Japanese National Police Agency have confirmed 2,414 deaths, 1,885 injuries and 3,118 people missing across 16 prefectures, but estimated numbers were said to be much higher.