Just when Rosmah Mansor was about to celebrate receiving an international award, the organisers have decided to pull the rug from underneath her feet.
On Monday, US news site The New York Times reported that organisers of a high-profile event have canceled, at the last minute, the ‘Lead By Example’ award they had planned to present to the wife of the Malaysian Prime Minister in conjunction with the 71st UN General Assembly to be held this week.
According to the report, the organisers have decided not to honour Permata, a children’s organisation founded by Rosmah in 2007, as they were concerned about possible links to the troubled Malaysian wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The decision came after an article published by US financial site Wall Street Journal last week claimed that the 64-year-old allegedly spent more than US$6 million (RM24 million) on clothes, shoes and jewellery, possibly with funds allegedly siphoned off 1MDB.
A spokesperson for Antiquities Coalition — who are the actual organisers of the event — told media in a statement: “Contrary to erroneous reports, the event is not a Unesco event, nor is Unesco giving the award.”
Meanwhile, Professor Tudor Parfitt, the chair of the international academic advisory panel for the event, confirmed that the honour had been withdrawn in a written statement cited by Malaysian news site Malaysiakini.
“The committee recommended that Permata programmes receive recognition as they were seen to represent a model for potential imitation in other countries with diverse populations.
“The programme, which was founded in 2007 under the auspices of Rosmah Mansor, has already received recognition for its efforts to help deprived young people find employment and develop their potential,” he was quoted as saying.
Parfitt added that questions have been raised about the source of Permata’s fundings and although the organisers had no immediate means of verifying the fundings, they were not aware of any specific wrongdoing.
“However, we do not wish this important event to be dominated by anything other than the issue of how to mobilise and unite people in the fight against violent extremism.
“The committee therefore decided it requires more time to review the comments that have been received, and has removed Permata from the list of Thursday’s honourees,” Parfitt was further quoted as saying.
The award ceremony will be held at the “A Tribute to Heroes in the Global Campaign Against Violent Extremism” event at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York on Sept 22.
Among the scheduled honourees include Senegal President Macky Sall and several individuals who championed for universal peace like Kenya’s Ayub Mohamud, Iraq’s Nadia Murad and Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times.
