Pada 8 Januari lalu Isteri Perdana Menteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor diberitakan telah berlepas ke Arab Saudi, untuk lawatan selama tiga hari.Dalam lawatannya itu beliau yang diiringi delegasi seramai 20 orang termasuk anggota Badan Amal dan Kebajikan Isteri-isteri Menteri dan Timbalan Menteri (Bakti) serta pegawai-pegawai kanan Jabatan Perdana Menteri .
Di Arab Saudi, beliau telah menyampaikan ucaptama pada Persidangan Antarabangsa Pertama mengenai Pengurusan Kualiti Menyeluruh (TQM) Dalam Pendidikan Ke-12 di Riyadh.
Rosmah juga menyaksikan pemeteraian Memorandum Persefahaman (MoU) antara Akademi Permata Insan, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) dan Saudi Arabian Islamic Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba).
Selepas Arab Saudi, Rosmah dijadual untuk melawat Oman selama empat hari dari 16 Januari sebelum ke Bangladesh selama tiga hari dari 19 Januari.
Ramai yang tertanya-tanya atas kapasiti apa Rosmah Mansor mengadakan lawatan ke Arab Saudi itu, sedangkan yang sepatutnya menyampaikan ucapan di Persidangan Antarabangsa Pertama mengenai Pengurusan Kualiti Menyeluruh (TQM) Dalam Pendidikan Ke-12 di Riyadh ialah Menteri Pelajaran bukannya Isteri Perdana Menteri.
Jika Menteri Pelajaran dikatakan mempunyai jadual yang bertindih dalam hal ini, kenapa tidak Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran ke Arab Saudi sebagai wakil?
Rosmah juga telah mengambil alih tugas Menteri Pelajaran apabila bertindak menyaksikan pemeteraian Memorandum Persefahaman (MoU) antara Akademi Permata Insan, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) dan Saudi Arabian Islamic Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity(Mawhiba).
Isunya disini ialah siapakah Rosmah untuk mewakili Negara kita Malaysia, beliau hanya isteri Perdana Menteri bukannya seorang Menteri..
Selama lebih dari lima puluh tahun merdeka kita tidak pernah mendengar Perdana Menteri diwakili oleh Isterinya bagi sebarang majlis rasmi yang melibatkan Negara diluar negeri.. Malah isteri Tun Mahathir yang telah memerintah selama 22 tahun tidak pernah kita dengar mewakili Negara dalam sebarang majlis rasmi diluar negeri.
Ketika di Arab Saudi Isteri Perdana Menteri Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor dikatakan menginap di Royal Suite, Intercontinental Hotel di Riyadh yang sewanya mencecah RM100,000.00 sahaja bagi satu hari. Itu Rosmah.. bagaiman pula dengan 20 orang lagi ahli rombongannya itu?
Adakah mereka semua menumpang di dalam bilik Royal Suite penginapan Rosmah itu? Atau mereka menyewa chalet yang berada diluar Bandar Riyadh yang sewanya lebih murah.. atau untuk menjimatkan kos rombongan mereka hanya mendirikan khemah di perkarangan hotel itu??.. mana mungkin..
Dan setelah selesai melakukan lawatan ke Arab Saudi kini diberitakan pula Rosmah Mansor akan melawat Oman pula.. kononnya atas jemputan selama empat hari pula dari 16hb hingga ke 19hb Januari pula.
Lawatannya ke Oman menurut seorang Diplomat Malaysia bakal memperkukuhkan lagi hubungan dua hala antara Malaysia dan Oman ini secara tidak langsung dapat meningkatkan hubungan antara kedua-dua negara dalam aspek pendidikan , perdagangan dan juga pelancongan.
Dan lawatan ini amat signifikan oleh diplomat itu kerana ianya merupakan lawatan kedua seorang pemimpin dari Malaysia ke Oman setelah 20 berlalu dimana kali terakhir pemimpin Malaysia mewat Oman pada tahun 1991 dan pemimpin yang melawatnya ialah Sultan Azlan Shah ketika menjadi Yang di Pertuan Agong.
Portfolio apakah pula yang dipegangnya kdalam lawatan ke Oman ini? Jika dikatakan lawatannya bakal meningkatkan antara kedua-dua negara dalam aspek pendidikan , perdagangan dan juga pelancongan ianya kelihatan seperti Menteri Pendidikan, Menteri Perdagangan dan Menteri Pelancongan pula..
Biasanya hanya Perdana Menteri yang boleh mewakili ketiga-tiga kementerian itu.. tapi kenapa Isteri Perdana Menteri? Bukan Menteri atau Timbalan Menteri?
Berapa banyakkah yang akan dihabiskan pula kali ini??
Rosmah’s visit to boost Oman-Malaysia ties, says envoy
MUSCAT, Jan 15 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s official visit to Oman from tomorrow will further strengthen relations between Malaysia and the sultanate, and may indirectly boost linkages between the two countries in fields like early childhood education, trade and tourism, according to a Malaysian diplomat.
The January 16-19 visit by the wife of the prime minister is all the more significant as this will be the first time in 20 years that a visiting dignitary from Malaysia is being received as a guest of the state of Oman.
The last Malaysian dignitary accorded such a rarefied status was the then-Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Azlan Shah, when he visited Oman back in 1991, said Mohamad Norhisyam Mohamad Yusof, charge d’affaires at the Malaysian embassy in Muscat.
Speaking to Malaysian journalists ahead of Rosmah’s arrival, he said: “The government of Oman is very selective in extending invitations of that nature, meaning that the one extended to Datin Seri Rosmah (picture) is a reflection of the close and cordial ties between the two moderate Muslim countries.”
He further said that Oman’s invitation for Rosmah to visit the country could be seen as a recognition of her tireless efforts in promoting a cause close to her heart — early childhood education under the Permata programme — as well as her role in empowering women in Malaysia.
Norhisyam said he viewed Rosmah’s role as complementary to that of her husband, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in promoting the policies and positions of the Malaysian government.
Rosmah is scheduled to have an audience with Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood Al-Said.
Omani Social Development Minister Dr Sharifa bint Khalfan Al-Yahya’eyah will also call on Rosmah.
Rosmah will be joined on the trip by members of the Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti), of which she is president.
Malaysia and Oman established diplomatic relations in 1983.
Norhisyam said there were about 900 Malaysians in Oman, the majority working in the petroleum sector.
“And they’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of Datin Seri Rosmah in Muscat,” he added.
He said bilateral trade between Malaysia and Oman stood at nearly RM500 million from January-October 2010, with Malaysia’s main exports to Oman being edible oil, machinery, appliances and parts, wood products, and electrical and electronic products.
According to him, there were ample opportunities for Malaysian companies in Oman’s infrastructure projects like roads and highways, airport construction, as well as education.
Norhisyam noted that Malaysia was a favourite destination among Omani holidaymakers.
“The number of visitors from Oman to Malaysia is increasing over the years. In 2010 alone, we received 18,300 people from Oman, an increase of 20 per cent over the figure for 2009,” he said.
He said the growth in the number of visitors from Oman in 2011 was projected to be in the 15 to 20 per cent range compared to last year.
The diplomat also said that more than 400 Omani students were studying in Malaysian institutions of higher learning last year.
“My greatest hope is that the visit by Datin Seri Rosmah will lead to more opportunities for further collaboration between Malaysia and Oman, and bring the close and cordial relations between both sides to another level,” he added.
The visit to Oman follows Rosmah’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia. After Oman, she will head for Bangladesh. — Bernama
from Anak Sungai Derhaka
