As Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak continue to battle allegations of corruption, the latest story from US news site Wall Street Journal will definitely thrust him and his wife Rosmah Mansor’s alleged jet-setting ways back into the spotlight again.
The business daily on Monday published an article claiming that Rosmah allegedly spent more than US$6 million (RM24 million) on clothes, shoes and jewellery.
WSJ claimed in the report that “newly revealed” documents suggested that the spending was allegedly made between 2008 and 2015 at high-end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue of New York and London’s Harrods department store, among other places.
“Newly revealed documents show (Rosmah) has racked up at least US$6 million in credit card charges in recent years – despite having no known source of income beyond her husband’s salary.
“She is the only child of schoolteachers, hasn’t had a regular paying job in years and her husband, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, is a longtime bureaucrat with an annual salary of US$100,000 (RM400,000),” WSJ said in the report.
The shopping spree, according to WSJ, were reportedly charged to Najib’s credit cards, which the daily claimed drew on billions of dollars allegedly siphoned from the troubled wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
WSJ also claimed that the expenses include the close to US$1 million (RM4 million) shopping spree Rosmah allegedly went on back in 2014.
Back in March, Rosmah’s infamous shopping spree came to light when WSJ claimed in a report that she allegedly spent more than €750,000 (RM4.091 million) at jewellery store De Grisogono in Italy and US$130,635 (RM534,297) at a Chanel store in Hawaii.
Rosmah’s alleged penchant for splurging on branded – and very expensive – goods has been well documented in the past.
In 2011, the 64-year-old allegedly bought a diamond ring reportedly worth a whopping USD24 million (RM99 million) from New York-based fine jewellers Jacob & Co.
Then, in 2015, Rosmah allegedly paid RM820,000 for a Hermes Birkin bag during a Christie’s Hong Kong auction. Her aide, Rizal Mansor, denied the allegations.
In her biography titled ‘Biographi Rosmah Mansor‘ which was released in 2013, Rosmah claimed that her shopping money came from years and years of savings.
“I have bought some jewellery and dresses with my own money. What is wrong with that?,” she was quoted as saying in the biography.
In the book, she also explained that it was common to receive gifts from hosts while visiting another country on official duty.
“While welcoming guests, it is common courtesy for them to present us gifts as memorabilia. Among these gifts include rings, watches, jewellery and others. Some are very expensive and custom-made.
“When someone gives us something, it is not nice to reject it. This said, there is no reason for me to go around announcing that I have been presented watches, designer bags, and the rest. That’s just showing off,” she wrote in the book.
