Ambiga is FMT’s newsmaker of the year
Surprisingly ‘people-savvy’ Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak came in seventh after his wife Rosmah Mansor.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Bersih 2.0 hero S Ambiga was named FMT’s top newsmaker of the year after some 57% of its readers voted for her, drubbing more prominent figures like Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
This comes as no surprise, given the amount of headlines Ambiga, a former president of the Malaysian Bar Council, had accumulated throughout the year.
The year 2011 showered on Ambiga both positive and negative coverage, much of it due to her involvement in several rocking controversial events.
What does come as a surprise is that Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was next in line despite barely making the headlines, at least up until the RM250-million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal broke out last month.
The Women’s Affair, Family and Community Development Minister is now facing growing calls to quit her post from her own Umno party members who view her as a liability.
The “attention” given to Shahrizat, who is Wanita Umno chief, by FMT readers perhaps reflects the weight of the scandal and the potential damage it may do to the ruling coalition in the upcoming national polls.
Shahrizat received 534 votes or a 9% rating next to Ambiga, similar to the percentage received by Anwar who came in third in the chart after gaining five votes lesser.
Meanwhile, Najib was two points behind his wife Rosmah Mansor. Rosmah came in fourth with 416 votes or a 7% rating.
Rosmah, who is known for her love of luxury goods, made several headlines for allegedly owning “blings” or diamond ring and a bangle worth more than RM70 million. She has, however, denied these allegations.
