Of chocolates and Birkin handbags
PETALING JAYA: As ousted prime minister Datuk Sri Najib Abdul Razak complained about raiding policemen helping themselves to chocolates belonging to his family, and his wife Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor cried foul over 'trial by media', reports of luxury items carted away from their homes have become fodder for the media.
While the local media is exercising restrain and is reporting the facts on the seized items, news agencies and foreign newspapers have taken a few steps further. Some even draw a comparison with the Marcoses.
Here are some extracts:
From AP:
'Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, was known for her love of Birkin bags and her opulent lifestyle, but television footage of the police haul has Malaysia gasping with shock. It is possibly the most sensational image of elite corruption in Asia in the three decades since former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos and her extravagant collection of designer shoes.
'Rosmah's fetish for bags has been compared to Marcos' collection of shoes.
More than 1200 pairs of designer shoes including gold-trimmed imports were found in the Philippine presidential palace after she and her dictator husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, fled a 'people power' revolt that toppled the regime in 1986.'
From Singapore Straits Times:
'Only a few pieces of Birkin bags are produced annually and there is no fixed schedule as to when they are sent to the stores.
'The waiting list to buy one is long, reportedly up to six years and new bags cost anything from S$16,000 (RM 47,324.00 ) to S$268,600 (RM 794,451.65), depending on the rarity of the crocodile skin and embellishments that could include gold buckles and diamond studs.
'The alternative is to buy them off the secondary market and auction houses, where they are even pricier because of the bag's high investment value.'
From South China Morning Post:
'Rosmah, 66, is widely mocked for her imperious manner and reports of multimillion-dollar jewellery purchases and a vast supply of designer handbags that has earned comparisons to the famed shoe collection of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos.
'Among other missteps, Rosmah complained in 2015 about the 1,200 ringgit (US$300) house calls from stylists required to keep her pronounced mane of hair dyed black.'