‘Najib’s destiny to be PM’: Rosmah

(AP) PUTRAJAYA, March 13 – Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of Malaysia's next prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said today it is his destiny to lead the country, despite opposition attempts to link him to corruption and murder.

		PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

In an interview with the Associated Press, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor said the attacks on her husband, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, have made the couple more mature and stronger.

Datuk Seri Najib is to take over from current leader Abdullah Badawi early next month.

'If God says it is his turn, it is his turn,' Madam Rosmah said. 'That is the thing we all have to accept, because when (Abdullah became leader)… we believed that it was his time, his destiny, and we went on with our lives.'

Opposition leaders have tried to link Mr Najib and his wife to the killing of a Mongolian woman and accused him of corruption in government deals to buy French submarines and Russian jets. Mr Najib has denied these accusations.

When asked about the allegations linking them to the killing, Madam Rosmah said she ignores such 'mischievous statements from mischievous people'.

The opposition contends that Mr Najib was involved in the slaying of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a 28-year-old Mongolian translator who was having an affair with a close friend of Mr Najib's.

Government lawyers said Ms Altantuya was shot in October 2006. Her body was then blown up in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur, and only fragments were found.

Prosecutors alleged that Mr Abdul Razak Baginda, Mr Najib's friend, ordered Ms Altantuya killed after she started pestering him for money. Mr Abdul Razak was acquitted last October of abetting the slaying. A court is scheduled to decide next month whether to convict two police officers charged with carrying out the killing.

Madam Rosmah said her tribulations last year, when public suspicions of Mr Najib gained strength because of blogs that carried allegations against him, have made the couple 'more mature…stronger'. — AP