Terengganu Royal Council: Sultanah never involved in TIA, no links with Jho Low

(Bernama) The 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).

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 at all.

The Council vehemently 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.”

“The Sultanah has never at any time known or has any relationship with the ‘Jho’ mentioned in the book,” it said in a statement on Friday (Sept 14).

Therefore, it said the writer of the book should take appropriate measures to rectify the fact and apologise to the Terengganu Sultanah for the irresponsible statement.

The book, “The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose” was written by founder and editor of the Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle-Brown.

It tells the story behind the investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal and was officially unveiled on Sept 8.

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

TIA was renamed 1MDB in January 2009.