Rosmah Mansor who was supposed to received the ”Lead by Example” Award from the Antiquities Coalition has been removed from the list of honoures.
On Saturday, the prime minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, has been selected to be the recipient of Unesco’s ‘Lead by Example’ award in conjunction with the 71st United Nations General Assembly.
Permata is the brainchild of Rosmah Mansor herself who also serves as its patron.
The Antiquities Coalition spokesperson Andy Beck said in an email to the media, Contrary to erroneous reports, the event is not a Unesco event, nor is Unesco giving the award.”
Beck also shared a statement from Professor Tudor Parfitt, a British scholar, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and chair of the international academic advisory panel for the event.
“The committee recommended that Permata programmes receive recognition as they were seen to represent a model for potential imitation in other countries with diverse populations.
“The programme, which was founded in 2007 under the auspices of Rosmah Mansor, has already received recognition for its efforts to help deprived young people find employment and develop their potential,” said Parfitt.
Parfitt said following inaccurate leaks of the committee’s recommendations, the organisation had been quizzed by the media about the sources of funding for Permata.
He said as academics, the organisation had no immediate means of verifying funding for Permata, and was not aware of any specific wrongdoing.
“However, we do not wish this important event to be dominated by anything other than the issue of how to mobilise and unite people in the fight against violent extremism,” he said.
“The committee therefore decided it requires more time to review the comments that have been received, and has removed Permata from the list of Thursday’s honourees,” he added.