Rosmah Mansor said that Hollywood megastar Robert De Niro will be visiting Malaysia after accepting her invitation when the two met during her trip to New York in April.

NONE The wife of Prime Minister Najib Razak told Sarawak's Daily Express that De Niro had expressed interest to visit Malaysia when he attended a gala dinner where Rosmah received the 'International Peace and Harmony Award' from the United States Business Council for International Understanding.

"He came as one of our guests and saw the other side of Malaysia. He said, 'You are very progressive, you are very engaging. I would like to come to your country.'

NONE "I said, 'Please come because otherwise, you listen to all the wrong things about Malaysia. It is very important to put things in the right perspective. I told the people in New York that we are not destroying our forests,'" said Rosmah in the exclusive interview .

According to her, many Americans also think that Malaysia is a breeding-ground for drugs, middlemen for human trafficking and terrorists.

"I told them it is not true - come and visit us and judge for themselves what we are all about. So, it is very important that Malaysians invite them so they can tell the whole world that we are completely different from what they have heard."

Duet with Jamie Foxx

Apart from De Niro, Rosmah has in the past met a string of international stars, among them television celebrity Martha Stewart, 'King of Bollywood' Shahrukh Khan, and even had her share of duets with the likes of Lionel Richie and Jamie Foxx.

NONE At the award dinner in New York, Rosmah broke into a rendition of 'We are the world' with Foxx ( right ), who won an Oscar for his depiction of legendary singer Ray Charles in the 2004 movie 'Ray'.

Rosmah, though not a professional singer, has however sang in public before, including during the Sibu by-election campaign.

There was a controversy over who paid for the two-page advertisement in New York Times ( top picture ) announcing the award to the Malaysian 'First Lady'.

The prime minister's wife also said that some Americans were worried they would be caned should they break the Islamic law.

NONE "I said 'No, you are not subjected to syariah law. Only the Muslims are subjected to syariah law. But you are subjected to civil law," explained Rosmah.

"I said, 'Like in many other countries, if you break the law, then you have to face the consequences. People like us, Muslims, we have to observe the syariah law as well as the civil law.' And they said 'Oh, we didn't know because nobody ever explained that.'"