KUALA LUMPUR: Members of Parliament today urged PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar to explain the photos of her with the daughter of the late Jamalul Kiram III, whose forces invaded Sabah in 2013.
The photos posted on Facebook by both Nurul Izzah and the self-proclaimed princess Jacel H. Kiram-Hasan has sparked outrage among Malaysians who questioned their association.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said it would be “irresponsible” of PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar if her pictured association with the daughter of the late self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan was authentic.
He said he had yet to receive a report on the matter, but stressed that the situation in the Southern Philippines remains delicate following news of the beheading of Sarawakian hostage Bernard Then by Abu Sayyaf kidnappers and the ongoing peace process between Muslim rebels and Manila in south Mindanao.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said Nurul Izzah was duty bound to answer the questions raised on photos of her with Jacel.
"It came as a rude shock to me when I saw it. You (the media) need to ask what transpired between the two.
"Nurul should explain to the public what really happened in view of the sensitivity of this issue.
"Malaysians are eager to know," the MCA deputy president said.
Meanwhile, DAP vice-chairperson Teresa Kok said the photos were interesting, adding that it was her first time seeing them when shown by reporters at the Parliament lobby this morning.
She backed her Pakatan mate up, saying that Nurul Izzah might have not known the woman was the Sulu princess.
Kok noted that she would ask Nurul Izzah herself on the issue.
"It's not surprising because it's a social function, we always meet different types of people and take photographs. It doesn't mean that we agree about what they or their group are doing.
"I also have photographs with people I do not really know.... interesting. I also have dinners with the ministers who fought with me," the DAP vice-chairperson said
Surprising reporters, Kok asked if this was something serious, saying that the Sulu case was an ‘old story’.
"Is it that serious? Sulu is a bit of an old story," she said.