Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz has dismissed claims of Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor meddling in matters out of her jurisdiction, as the wife of the Prime Minister.
"There is no such thing as her meddling in national affairs. Who said this? These are all lies and slanderous statements," Nazri said Thursday.
Nazri was responding to a supplementary question by Siti Zailah Mohd Yusof (PAS-Rantau Panjang), who asked him to outline the extent of Rosmah's authority as the wife of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
"Rosmah, as the First Lady of Malaysia, was also invited by different countries to give keynote addresses at events. It is not as if she demanded to be invited.
"I'm sorry if nobody asked you to give keynote speeches," Nazri told Siti Zailah jokingly, leading to laughter by other MPs in the Dewan Rakyat.
On claims that Rosmah had said the tsunami in Japan was caused by their failure to have environment-friendly measures, Nazri said her statement was taken out of context.
"You have to understand her statement in its full context and not just take a word or two and make your own assumptions," he said.
To an earlier question by Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN - Pasir Salak), Nazri said the fact that Rosmah was invited to give keynote speeches should be seen as an honour given to Malaysia.
