KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah, said today she has never meddled in the state's administrative matters.
She said this included being involved in the inception of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
Sultanah Nur Zahirah also said she had no knowledge of the alleged appointment of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, as an official adviser of TIA, which later became 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
She said this when testifying in her defamation suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown over an alleged defamatory statement in the book, The Sarawak Report – The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose. The trial was conducted via video conferencing due to the issue of security.
Clad in a purple baju kurung, Sultanah Nur Zahirah was calm when questioned by Rewcastle-Brown's lawyer Americk Sidhu on the purported defamatory statement.
However, she was seen to hold back her tears when her counsel Vishnu Kumar asked how the defamatory statements had affected her reputation as the wife of the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin.
"When the book was released in August 2018, my husband was the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong and I was the Permaisuri Agong.
"When this book affiliated my name with people like Low, this surely will tarnish my reputation... nobody wants to be connected to Low due to what he had done to this country.
"Except for being the wife of the Sultan and chancellor for universities in the state, I am just a housewife who wants to raise my children," she said.
She also rejected Rewcastle-Brown's apology as she believed it was not sincere.
"This is not a fairytale book. This (book) is about corruption in Malaysia and it must tell the truth.
"The author must check her facts. I do not know what was her (Rewcastle-Brown) intention," she added.
Earlier, Sultanah Nur Zahirah in her witness statement said the alleged defamatory statement depicted her as having misused her position in the setting up of TIA.
"I stress that I not only had no role, but also had no influence or involvement in the formation of TIA. In fact, I do not have knowledge at all in relation to it."
Sultanah Nur Zahirah said the alleged defamatory statement also depicted her as supporting Low to obtain his role as TIA's adviser.
"I would like to stress that I have never given my consent to Low or any parties in relation to the establishment of TIA. In fact, I do not know Low," she said, adding that the statement also portrayed her as lacking integrity and morality, and of being involved in corrupt practices.
Apart from Rewcastle-Brown, the sultanah also named book publisher Gerakbudaya Enterprise and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd as the other defendants.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah is claiming RM100 million in damages from each of the defendants and wants the second defendant, the publisher, to withdraw the books containing the defamatory statements as well as stop the third defendant, the printing company, from printing more copies of the book.
In their statement of defence, the three defendants denied that they had accused Sultanah Nur Zahirah of being involved in corrupt practices.
Rewcastle-Brown contended that Sarawak Report did not suggest that Sultanah Nur Zahirah was involved in a conspiracy that involved Low or that she was involved in the government administration associated with 1MDB matters.
The trial before Judicial Commissioner Dr John Lee Kien How @ Mohd Johan Lee continues on Aug 4.