“In my case, I make my husband happy and he is a happy man… As such, he can discharge his duties well to all of you out there and to Malaysia,” Bernama quoted her as saying to applause from the crowd when opening the National Women’s Day of Pertubuhan Gerak Sakti 1Malaysia.
The event was attended by 3,000 Indian women.
Rosmah also said that she received all the criticisms and allegations hurled at her with an open heart and a smile as all these were part and parcel of politics.
“In politics, we just have to go through it and smile, and that is the best medicine for them… When we smile (at them), they will get annoyed. (However,) if we get angry, they would love that,” she said.
Rosmah also praised the initiatives of Pertubuhan Gerak Sakti 1Malaysia, which was founded in November 2015, in improving the livelihood of the Indian community by recruiting 6,000 teenagers to undergo intensive training and providing them with job opportunities.
At the ceremony, three women received awards from Rosmah for their achievements in various fields.
They were the founder of The Centre of Applied Data Science, Sharala Axryd; activist Guramah Appanah; and a single mother, Janagi Narayanan, who operates a coffee shop in Trolak, Perak.
They each received RM5,000, a trophy and a certificate.
Women to the fore
Meanwhile, Bernama quoted Rosmah as saying that the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led government had never marginalised women’s groups in the nation’s development plan but had always provided the opportunity for them to move in tandem with the country’s growth.
She also said women of Indian ethnicity had also received perks and benefits from various government initiatives, particularly through the Socio-economic Development of Indian Community Unit (Sedic) and microcredit facility, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.
“Under Sedic, a sum of RM203 million has been allocated for the use of 500,000 people of the Indian community, where 16% of the allocation is for programmes related to women and single mothers.
“Various courses such as sewing, cooking, agriculture and make-up have been implemented for the women and single mothers, where most of them have generated their own income.
“In addition, Amanah Iktiar Malaysia has assisted more than 10,000 Indian women through various business loans, amounting to RM140 million,” she was quoted as saying in her speech.
Present at the event were Pertubuhan Gerak Sakti 1Malaysia chairman RS Thanenthiran and his wife, Vaney Thanenthiran, who is also the women’s wing chairman of the organisation.
Rosmah also reminded Indian women who want to venture into business to seek a niche market in order for them to win the hearts of customers.