Najib debunks ‘first lady’ term used on wife
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in explaining the reference to his wife as the “first-lady” in a two-page advertisment in the New York Times last month, said, as practice, the term is not used in Malaysia.
“Based on Malaysian customs, culture and protocol, the term ‘first lady’ is not a practice we use,” he said in his written reply to a question by Chua Tian Chang (PKR-Batu) in Parliament yesterday.
Chua, also known as Tian Chua, had questioned the advertisement published in the New York Times on April 16, and had asked if the Prime Minister was aware that using the term “first lady” on the latter’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor contravened Article 32 of the Federal Constitution.
Najib did not directly answer if his wife was accurately called the ‘first lady’ but noted that if the practice was used in Malaysia, the ‘first lady’ should be a person whose status is below that of the Raja Permaisuri Agong.
“Many people believe that in the Malaysian context, the term ‘first lady’ refers to the Raja Permaisuri Agong.
“This perception is inaccurate. This is because the position of the Raja Permaisuri Agong is higher than the ‘first lady’,” he said.
He noted that the position of the Raja Permaisuri Agong was enshrined in Article 32 (2) of the Federal Constitution.
“The position should be given priority above all others after the Agong,” he said.
Najib further explained that the term ‘first lady’ did not exist at all in the Federal Constitution.
“Hence to liken the Raja Permaisuri Agong with the ‘first lady’, like what is practised in other countries, is inaccurate.
