SHAH ALAM, Nov 29 — PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar did not intend to slight Sabahans when she posed for photographs with the daughter of the Sulu “Sultan” whose forces invaded Lahad Datu in 2013, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today.

The PKR president, who is also Nurul Izzah’s mother, added that the incident was overblown by those seeking to damage the Lembah Pantai MP’s image and harm her party’s bid to win over Sabah voters.

“It’s a small thing. And Izzah is not the host. If you are the guest, you don’t have anything to do with the guest list.

“Of course, she has already apologised because she didn’t meant to hurt anybody’s feelings,” Dr Wan Azizah told reporters when met after the PKR congress today.

Dr Wan Azizah refused, however, to comment on whether voter sentiment in Sabah had been affected by the recent incident.

“We will wait and see,” she said before leaving the IDEAL Convention Centre here.

Nurul Izzah triggered controversy by posing together with Jacel Kiram for photographs during a trip to the Philippines.

Jacel is the daughter of Jamalul Kiram III, the self-styled Sulu “sultan” who ordered the invasion of Lahad Datu in Sabah in 2013, in which 10 Malaysian security personnel were killed.

Nurul Izzah later 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.

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.

Police are also investigating both lawmakers over the meeting.