SULTANAH of Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah has never been directly or indirectly involved in any government administrative affairs and, in particular, the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).

The Terengganu Royal Council of Regency said the statement in the book entitled The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose, which linked the Terengganu sultanah with the issue, was not true.

The council denied the statement in the third page of the book, which reads: “Jho (Low) was also friendly with a key player in Terengganu, the wife of the sultan, whose acquiescence was needed to set up the fund and he later cited her support as having been crucial to his obtaining the advisory position.”

In denying this, the council said in a statement today that  “the sultanah has never at any time known or has any relationship with the ‘Jho’ mentioned in the book”. 

It said the author should take appropriate measures to rectify the mistake and apologise to the Terengganu sultanah for the irresponsible statement.

The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose details the investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal by founder and editor of the Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle-Brown, and was released on September 8.

1MDB began as TIA,  a sovereign wealth fund set up in 2008 aimed at spurring long-term, sustainable socio-economic development in Terengganu.

TIA was renamed 1MDB in January 2009. – Bernama, September 14, 2018.