First Lady's Role in US, Malaysia

What is the role of a First Lady? The answer is simple: Nothing. When the women of these husbands reach the peak of their political power, there is an unwritten rule for these women. This unwritten rule for the First Lady is for her to become the shadow behind her husband and to support him silently from behind. As the Chinese saying goes: "It is difficult for a person to live a wholesome life; it is more difficult for women to live a wholesome life; it is most difficult for the wife of a president to live a wholesome life."

First Lady does not have a public position. In general the role of the First Lady is to organize receptions and dinners at official residence and to accompany her husband on state visits to other countries, or to attend various charitable activities. However in the United States, it is a bit different. When the United States first created the term First Lady in 1890, the requirement of the First Lady was to be a model wife and a model mother so that she could be a good model for the society.

Situation in Europe
The situation in Europe is not very different from that of the United States. The wife of the head of state will usually involve in areas such as cultural, charitable and cooperation development only. The public's eyes are sharp and critical towards the wives of state heads. When French President Nicolas Sarkozy's former wife Cecilia succeeded to urge Libra to release five Bulgarian nurses in July 2007, a Socialist Party MP questioned the legality of the move by the President's wife. The media also demanded President Nicolas Sarkozy to explain.

During certain period in the past, Michelle Obama earned even more money than her husband Obama. But after husband became the US President, Michelle Obama, the First Lady with a doctoral degree in law has lived her life as the hostess of the White House with cautious heart. Michelle Obama learned fast that the media love to ask her many sensitive issues. In addition, the media also love to use magnifying glass to view her every move to the extent that even her wearing of shorts during vacations has also resulted in criticism.

During Obama's campaign period, Mitchelle Obama said, "This is the first time in my life I love America so much." Her words were caught by Barack Obama's political rivals and they said the Obama couple was unpatriotic extreme liberal. These few words of Michelle Obama almost destroyed the Barack Obama's political future.

Ambition and Confidence
Nevertheless, after more than a year of trials and errors, Mitchelle Obama, a woman with advanced and modern thought, has finally transformed into a First Lady who has learned to talk less. For example on sensitive women issue of abortion, she would not want to give comment. She learned fast that by distancing herself from politics is as good as adding less trouble to her husband. This is the best help she could give her husband.

It seems to us that the White House hostess Michelle Obama is now spending more time with her two daughters, controlling their lunch boxes and solving their childhood obesity in addition to opening up a vegetable garden at the White House backyard teaching pupils to grow vegetables or raise bees.

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib's wife Rosmah has just denied her "interference in domestic affairs" accusation. However, although Rosmah has neither the brain, capability of Mitchell Obama nor French President Nicolas Sarkozy's former wife Cecilia's boldness and daring to dare, Rosmah does have her ambition and confidence higher than anybody else. Rosmah said she wanted to stop taking the role as a "flower vase." She said she wanted to take advantage of her networking skills and make connection with First Lady in other countries to do something big and formal for their nations.

Independent Opinion
We trust all the sisters in the First Lady circle would love to hear Prime Minister Najib's wife's great ambition. However, the fact remains that majority of world nations are still revered to patriarchal system.

When the people in advanced countries such as the United States and France cannot tolerate their First Lady to have independent opinion, action and thought, how can we Malaysians expect Rosmah, wife of Prime Minister Najib, to have different thought or official action different from her husband? For a First Lady to be able to share half the sky of the nation with her husband, she may have to wait until the sea dries up.