DEAR Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor: You were perhaps a little bit disappointed that your husband can only leave Kajang Prison to go home if he pays a RM50 mil fine.
You were expecting Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be granted a full royal pardon so that he can serve immediately the remaining six years of his jail sentence under house arrest.
Nevertheless, the fact that you and your family members can get to see and touch him again is cause enough for joy.
Now, you are hoping with all your heart that charitable Malaysians will rally around him and contribute generously to the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund to help him pay off the fine.
But Datin Seri, you are none too happy with the public response to the call for help. You are bitter that friends you expect to rush to your side didn’t show up.
You lament that you now know who are your true friends who stood by your family through good times and bad.
You are implying that many of your friends showed their true colours when the house of Najib fell: they deserted you.
Madam, this is not a simple matter. Your husband is no ordinary person but was once the Prime Minister of Malaysia – the most powerful man in the land.
Of course, by virtue of your husband’s status your house became a magnet of national attention. Suddenly, you were swamped with so many friends that it is impossible to distinguish the real ones from the opportunistic ones.
Then your world was turned upset down when your husband fell from power and grace after he went to jail. And you use his downfall as a kind of a litmus test to find out who are your loyal friends.
Datin Seri, you don’t get it. If your friends don’t want to be seen anywhere near you, it is mostly because of the nature of your husband’s downfall.
You see, he has become a plain criminal shorn of all the trappings of influence and prestige after his conviction. By his one disgraceful act, he brought not only his whole family down but also the whole country.
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So, how do you expect your friends to react other than one of shock and horror?
You are putting them in a very difficult situation. You want them to contribute to the fund and at the same time to forget about the monumental scandal inextricably linked to your spouse.
What is involved here is an interplay of ethics, morality, good behaviour. Is Najib a good man? Going by the book, he is not seen as such.
Therefore, think your friends, if I donate will my name be forever associated to SRC International and 1MDB? Will I go down in history together with Najib as someone without scruples? Won’t people shame us if they come to know we gave our hard-earned money to let this felon go free?
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Datin Seri, your friends will indeed be proud to play their bit if your spouse was purely a political prisoner. They would even give all their life savings to see him rejoin with his family.
If your friends are reluctant to open their piggy banks, don’t expect the ordinary people to queue up to throw whatever little money they have into the collection box.
They all know what the man in Kajang Prison did to his country and you can bet they will not show an iota of sympathy or shed tears for him or rush to his aid.
The very fact that your husband must pay a RM50 mil fine goes to show the severity of his crime and the lack of spontaneous public response to the urgent call for help.
Perhaps, Datin Seri, you will nurse a heavy grudge against all those who didn’t give a single sen to the crowdfunding campaign. Your rage against them carries an implicit threat: if ever your husband comes back to power, they will suffer.
Such a scenario will not happen because wounded Malaysia will never put him back in charge of the destiny of the nation again.
However, Datin Seri, there’s one small consolation prize for you: sooner or later, your husband is certain to go home to your tender care and perhaps all the six years will be filled with remorse for the bad things he had done. – Sept 24, 2026
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image credit: The Star
