Following an alleged shopping spree in Sydney that had many Malaysians’ tongues wagging, the Prime Minister’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, has caused another uproar – this time for receiving a doctorate from Curtin University in Australia.

Curtin University had last week announced that it would honor Rosmah with a doctorate for being the founder and driving force behind the Permata early childhood centres that enable underprivileged children to have early education.

Rosmah Mansor

Rosmah Mansor, pictured with husband and Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, left. Pic: AP.

However, the university’s decision has come under fire by Malaysians that flooded Curtin University’s Facebook page with comments. Commentators wrote Curtin University had mistakenly referred to Rosmah as the First Lady of Malaysia and that Permata education centres were set up using taxpayers’ money, and therefore, should not be considered as a sole contribution by Rosmah.

“There are many more deserving souls in Malaysia. I can only think about the money I lost through my taxes,” a Facebook user known as Wan Adrie Nsno said.

“Curtin, by this action you have devalued the Curtin degree held by every Malaysian who have graduated from Curtin – including my own. It’s a sad and disgraceful day,” Adam Lau wrote on Curtin’s Facebook wall.

Curtin University later retracted its reference to Rosmah as First Lady of Malaysia, and wrote a response on Facebook explaining its decision to give her a doctorate.

“The University accepts that the decision to make this award has attracted criticism. We also accept that our use of the term ‘First Lady’ has offended some people, and apologise for this. We will no longer use that term, and have reissued our media statement with this change made,” its Vice-Chancellor Jeanette Hacket wrote on the university’s Facebook page recently.

Nevertheless, she backed the university’s decision and said recipients of such awards were selected through a process that engaged several committees within the university. “We acknowledge that there are a range of views on this award, but the Unviersity stands by its decision to grant the honorary doctorate,” she wrote here.

Netizens, however, were apparently dissatisfied with the university’s explanations and continued to express their views on its wall. Due to the overwhelming number of comments on the issue, the university has since suspended comments on its Facebook page and referred complainants to its complaint management site instead.

Rosmah was also accused of ‘buying’ the doctorate, in response to which she came on the record in The Star to deny these allegations.

“I did not pay for the honorary degree. Rather than buying it, I might as well have contributed the money to Wiranita Perkasa (a non-governmental organization that is linked to United Malays National Organization),” Rosmah was quoted as saying here.