Japan disaster ‘a lesson’ to other countries: Rosmah
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, says the disaster in Japan should be "a lesson" to the world.
Rosmah, in extending her sympathies to the stricken nation, connected the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan to climate change.
Speaking to the Astro’s Awani TV channel, she said other countries should take the disaster as a lesson with regards to development projects they undertook.
She said all nations, including Malaysia, should first study their surroundings and take into account climate change and the use of green technology.
A video of Rosmah's interview with the TV channel, which was put up on the popular video-sharing site YouTube, has drawn a firestorm of comments from viewers who have topped 70,000.
The prime minister’s wife has been in the news recently with the government being forced to clarify in Parliament last week that she does not have her own unit –- called the ‘First Lady of Malaysia (Flom) Division’ –- in the Prime Minister’s Office.
No ‘Flom’
The government has also had to clarify that her ‘First Lady’ title was merely an unofficial one; this in light of recent widespread criticism that it contradicted the Raja Permaisuri Agong’s position under the Malaysian constitution.
Malaysia, meanwhile, has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in connection with the disaster in Japan.
Local paper Berita Harian has been fiercely criticised for a cartoon, published in wake of the tragedy, which depicted popular Japanese superhero character ‘Ultraman’ as running away from a tsunami. The paper was forced to apologise on its Facebook page.
Down south, Singapore media company MediaCorp also issued an apology over its blatant attempt to cash in on the twin disasters.
The company was labelled ‘insensitive’ and ‘heartless’ for pitching advertisement slots on its breaking news coverage of the tragedy.
Radiation leaks
Japan has lurched from one disaster to another since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck on Friday.
The quake and the 10m-high tsunami that followed ravaged the country’s northeast, decimating entire villages and towns. The death toll, according to reports, could well be in excess of 10,000 people.
The earthquake also affected a nuclear power plant in the Fukushima region, with three explosions and reported radiation leaks . A 30km radius around the plant has been evacuated due to safety concerns.
