PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today defended her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar over the controversial meeting between Nurul and Jacel Kiram, the daughter of the late Sulu militant Jamalul Kiram III.

Wan Azizah claimed that Nurul was “too polite” to turn down a photograph opportunity with Jacel.

"You know, sometimes you go there and then people come to take photographs. Usually, sometimes you don't really (turn down), you just be polite," she said.

She was refering to several photographs of Nurul and Jacel, whose father was involved in the Sabah intrusion in 2013, which went viral in the social media and became a controversial issue.

When asked about the photograph where both Nurul and Jacel were holding placards with the words 'Release Anwar Immediately', Wan Azizah said, "She (Jacel) was invited by the organiser. Nurul didn't invite her. That's the difference."

Pro-Umno bloggers have used any opportunity to play up the issue to attack Nurul, she said.

Nurul was just a victim of the event, she claimed.

"Our stand is that Sabah is part of sovereignty of Malaysia, there is no change on that," said Wan Azizah when met at Parliament.

Umno leaders slammed Nurul for her controversial meeting with Jacel, urging her to apologise to Malaysians, particularly Sabahans and the families of slain cops.

In a statement, Nurul pointed out that she was invited by the Council on Philippine Affairs and the Asian Institute for Democracy, the Office of the City Mayor of Manila and the Office of the Vice-President of the Philippines.

“They decided on the list of leaders we were to meet,” she said.