Daisy wanted money, says prince's friend

He was accused of abducting and abusing his beautiful wife Manohara Odelia Pinot. And the accusations came from his own mother-in-law.

It was a sensational story spiced up by the fact that the alleged aggressor is a 32-year-old Kelantan prince and his wife, a 17-year-old former Indonesian model.

Yesterday, a friend of the couple dismissed the accusations and painted a different picture of the feud.

He claimed that tensions brewed between Tuanku Ismail Petra and his mother-in-law Daisy Farjana were over money.

According to businessman Mohd Soberi Shafii, Daisy allegedly wanted her son-in-law to settle her huge debts.

"She had asked him to settle the debts amounting to RM600,000 when the prince had already given her RM300,000.

"One night, she flew into a rage at the prince's house. She shouted like a mad woman. 'Why haven't you given the money, you have already married my daughter'.

"The prince said he wanted to pay and asked for an acknowledgment for the RM300,000 he had already given her. It was from this point that Daisy got angry," he said, adding that she also wanted to take her daughter back to Jakarta.

Mohd Soberi was speaking to Malaysiakini and two Indonesian media agencies at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Emissary has been dispatched

He also revealed that the prince dispatched an emissary to Jakarta yesterday with the hope of calling a truce with his mother-in-law.

He added that the emissary was also asked to continue "taking care of the welfare of Daisy and Manohara's sister Dewi Asih Pinot".

"The palace does not wish to intervene (in this matter)," he said, adding that the emissary was not an official representative of the Kelantan palace.

Mohd Soberi said Daisy's 'attitude' would determine if this conflict can be resolved. "It is up to her. If (she continues) to be aggressive and revengeful, how (can it be resolved)?"

Apart from claiming that her daughter ( right ) had been forcefully taken away by the prince when on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and that she was abused, Daisy also revealed that she was denied entry into Malaysia "upon the request of the Kelantan palace".

However, the Immigration Department revoked the restriction last Monday.

Commenting on the abduction allegation, Mohd Soberi explained that it stemmed from a misunderstanding. He also denied that the prince had abused his wife.

"The driver in Jeddah did not know (that he was to take her to board a commercial flight). He took Daisy ( left ) to the (private) jet, so there was confusion and the (plane's) door had already been shut.

"She was left behind. That's all... this is why she claimed (that her daughter) was abducted," he said, adding that he was in the same jet as the prince and his wife.

"The travel agent also forgot to tell the driver that once we left the hotel, we were supposed to go to the private jet (back to Kelantan) whereas Daisy was supposed to go on a commercial flight," he said, adding that Manohara called her mother from the plane and told her to return to Jakarta.

'My first and last man'

Mohd Soberi also claimed that Manohara had told him that she wanted to remain with her husband, saying that she would have filed for a divorce if otherwise.

"Every time I ask her about it, she would reply 'the prince is my first and last man'," he added.

As for Daisy being barred from entering Malaysia, he said this was done to prevent her from causing 'chaos' at the palace.

Furthermore, her arrival in Malaysia was close to the Sultan of Kelantan's birthday.

"Over there (in Jakarta) she had told the travel agent to ask Manohara to get a divorce and that she wanted to bring her daughter back. Failing this, she would cause trouble during the sultan's birthday. Daisy is an aggressive person, she is not afraid of anyone," he added.

Since the controversy was reported in the media, the prince and Manohara have appeared in public together on numerous occasions.

Efforts to contact Daisy for her comments have been unsuccessful.