The Washington-based International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) today responded to further queries on its donation to the children of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, saying that its transactions were scrutinised and approved by US Treasury officials.

There are also no contradictions between previous statements made by Anwar's wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on the issue and the information provided by IIIT in its applications to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax exemptions.

IIIT vice-president Dr Jamal Barzinji Jamal said this when contacted via telephone for comment on the organisation's tax exemptions forms ('990 forms') submitted to the IRS in 2000 and 2001, naming it as the donor of cash grants to Anwar's eldest daughter Nurul Izzah.

'Anwar's friends'

Last week, Wan Azizah had described the donations , totaling RM273,600, as "a favour from friends" at a time when the family was in difficulty.

Jamal said IIIT receives numerous donations from many individuals who contribute to grants for publication purposes, organising conferences and workshops, research projects, as well as funding for scholarships.

According to him, cash grants and allocations distributed throughout the year 2001 amounted to more than US$180,000 and the key officials who decide on the allocation of grants are Anwar's close friends.

Among the 'key officials' listed on IIIT's 990 forms submitted to the IRS were Jamal, Taha Jabir Alwani and Dr Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman, all of whom founded IIIT in 1981 along with Anwar.

"We sit on a committee that selects those that we feel are in need and qualify for the grants and we believed that Nurrul Izzah and her siblings well qualified to be recipients of our assistance," he said.

Jamal's comments come on the heels of claims and counter-claims following a televised report on Australia's Special Broadcasting Station (SBS) two weeks ago drawing an alleged link between Anwar and terrorism based on his status as a board member of IIIT.

The SBS' Dateline programe and the subsequent report by national news agency Bernama had also questioned the purpose of Nurul Izzah's "substantial scholarship" from IIIT.

The amount, claimed SBS, would 'more than fund her university studies in Malaysia.'

Clean bill

Meanwhile, Jamal said the IRS had scrutinised IIIT's financial records for many months before granting the institute a 'clean bill of health' approving the tax exemptions.

"They looked at every single financial transaction that we had made and investigated for about eight months before giving us a clean bill of health," he added.

Jamal was responding to the question as to how Nurrul Izzah could be approved as a recipient since her father was still an IIIT director.

IRS regulations on tax exemptions for 'charities and non-profits' stipulates that no part of the net earnings of a tax-exempted organisation may be 'for the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.'

Jamal explained that the regulations applied to those who held official positions and could thereby actively influence decision-making in favor of his or her interests.

He said Nurul Izzah was allowed because Anwar "is not an active participant" and not in any capacity to affect the decisions of IIIT's grants committee to decide in favour of his family.

He added that Anwar's circumstances under incarceration are obviously such that he is not in any way able to influence the decisions made by the (grants) committee.

"IRS rules recognise this. As I have said, our statements have been extensively audited and approved," he said.

Moulding professionals

Jamal also defended the institute's decision to grant Nurrul Izzah a scholarship despite her studies being in the field of engineering, whereas IIIT's stated primary purpose was being 'research and education for the religion of Islam'.

He said such objections go to show how little people know about seeking knowledge in Islam and the educational programs of IIIT.

"We are pushing to mould professionals who also have strong Islamic ethics. Three of IIIT's directors are engineers in addition to the many other doctors and professionals in the institute.

"We would rather support those who are capable (of being) doctors, lawyers, engineers and who are committed and principled and can serve society rather just Syariah students, many of whom become a burden to society and cannot stand on their own," he added.

Jamal said IIIT was concerned about all the sciences, not just the "traditional religious sciences".

Following the controversy, Anwar and his international lobby network Free Anwar Campaign have threatened to sue SBS for slander and accused the television station of colluding with Anwar's 'enemies' to plot his downfall.

In a statement last Friday, SBS'executive producer Mike Carey denied the allegation.

Anwar was sacked in 1998 and subsequently convicted for sodomy and corruption. He is currently serving his jail sentence at the Sungai Buloh prison.

He claims that the charges were trumped up to end his political career but the authorities have refuted this.