The contributions received by jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's children via a bank account held by eldest daughter Nurul Izzah have been described as "a favour from friends" at a time when the family was in difficulty.

Anwar's wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said this when asked to elaborate on her husband's response to allegations that the family had received some RM300,000 from Washington-based International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) for Nurul's tertiary education.

Nurul herself, when contacted today, said that the sum reported "far exceeds the help" she and her five siblings have received in donations from her father's friends in the US.

Australia's SBS TV Dateline programme last Wednesday had aired a report investigating Malaysia's role as a financial hub for terrorist organisations, during which it made a link between the IIIT and Anwar.

The programme caught Bernama 's attention which then reported, among other matters, that Anwar was a director and founding member of IIIT and that Nurul had received RM 300,000 from the institute.

Refuting the allegations yesterday, Anwar said : "...I would like to state here that Muslims in America made a special donation to sponsor the education of all my children during the five years that I have been in jail."

Assistance 'misconstrued'

Elaborating today, Wan Azizah said she saw nothing amiss with the education sponsorship that her children have been receiving as it was from a group of friends who wanted to help the family.

"When (Anwar) was arrested, they called and said they wanted to help...they thought that the best way was to ensure that the children's education was not neglected. They did not say how much they were giving or when... there was no official arrangement," she said.

"They were just friends who wanted to help another (friend) in a time of need. So they gave whatever they could afford."

Wan Azizah said the money was put in a bank account belonging to Nurul Izzah ( right ), but it was understood the money would also be used for the other children - Nurul Nuha 19 ( centre ), Mohd Ihsan 18, Nurul Ilham 16, Nurul Iman 13 and Nurul Hana 11.

"The money was put in Izzah's account because she is the eldest and was the one who needed the funds then, because she had just transferred to Universiti Tenaga Nasional from Universiti Teknologi Petronas without financial aid," she said.

"But the money has also been used to support Ihsan's studies in an Islamic college in Australia, and later, for the other children as well."

Nurul Izzah said the financial aid stopped after Sept 11, 2001 and claimed that she has not checked the balance in the account ever since.

"Whatever it is, I don't think we received that much (RM300,000). The remaining money will be used to help my siblings but I have no idea what the amount is...but I don't think it is in hundreds of thousands of ringgit," said the final-year electronic engineering student.

She also expressed disappointment that "such a noble gesture" could be misconstrued to this extent.

"(People) only wanted to help us. What's wrong with that? They may have been connected to IIIT, I am not sure, but in any case I don't think the people (who donated) or the institute was ever involved in terrorist acts," she added.