SHAH ALAM, Nov 28 — Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today that the sale of Edra Energy to a Chinese firm was more of an act of betrayal than the photographs of Nurul Izzah Anwar with Sulu “princess” Jacel Kiram.

Dr Wan Azizah, who is PKR president and Opposition Leader, accused the government of sidelining local power producer Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) when it went ahead with selling the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) power unit to China’s General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN).

“That is a betrayal,” she told the 2015 PKR national congress in her keynote speech.

“Not pictures with people, which they have considered a betrayal.”

She added that the purported attempt to save debt-laden 1MDB with the sale of Edra would lead to hikes in electricity tariffs that would further burden the people.

“This is what an economic betrayal means, when they don’t care about the negative impacts to the rakyat,” she added.

Nurul Izzah, who is Dr Wan Azizah’s daughter, caused a stir here when photographs of her with Jacel emerged in the media.

Jacel is the daughter of Jamalul Kiram III, the self-styled Sulu “sultan” who ordered the invasion of Lahad Datu in Sabah in 2013.

Nurul Izzah has since confirmed that she was in the Philippines on November 9 with fellow federal lawmaker Chua Tian Chang as part of a PKR delegation to meet with “various stakeholders” there, and explained that the guests were decided by the organisers and she had no knowledge she would be meeting Jacel.

During the skirmish with the over 200 Sulu gunmen from the sultanate, 10 Malaysian security personnel died.

Sabah leaders and several others here in the peninsula have accused Nurul Izzah of being insensitive by associating herself with “sultan” Jamalul's kin, some even suggesting that the lawmaker may have committed treason.

On Thursday, the Sabah legislative assembly voted in favour of a motion to ban Nurul Izzah and Chua from entering the state over the issue.