PKR did not make any promises to the late private investigator P Balasubramaniam’s widow A Santamil Selvi with regard to her children’s education, PKR MP R Sivarasa said.

Sivarasa’s denial comes after Selvi yesterday claimed that “certain quarters” promised to do many things following her husband’s death, including to provide for her children’s education.

Selvi also said she was told PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was busy every time she asked to meet the latter.

But Sivarasa said fellow PKR parliamentarian G Manivannan had met Selvi at his request in November last year to discuss her children’s education needs.

“She was told that any commitments for fees for diploma or degree courses at private colleges for her children would have to be discussed first as substantial amounts would be involved.

“No promises were made. No requests for interviews with foreign press were made in exchange,” said Sivarasa.

The Subang MP also refuted Selvi’s claim that no assistance was given to her after her husband’s death.

“I do not wish to enter into the reasons why Selvi would suddenly wish to make such accusations which are altogether untrue.

“It would be quite obvious to anyone watching the press conference that the press statement was written by someone else for her to read.”

Since 2013 until March this year, Sivarasa said, financial assistance was provided to Selvi and her children on a regular basis.

“Selvi is fully aware of the amounts and when and how they were given.”

After Balasubramaniam’s passing, a number of concerned individuals, including her lawyer Americk Sidhu, organised financial assistance for the family and the children’s placement in the Global Indian International School in Brickfields and undertook to support the fees, he said.

“The Selangor government also contributed some financial assistance to the family on a humanitarian basis.

“Later, however, Selvi took the children out of the Global Indian International School and put them in government schools as they did not seem to be happy there."

Sivarasa added the party was not aware that Selvi had visited the party HQ, and was told to seek assistance from BN instead, as claimed yesterday.

“Indeed there was no reason for her to go there at all or even to try to speak to Wan Azizah," he said.

Nevertheless, Sivarasa thanked Selvi for “preserving the integrity” of her husband’s reputation when answering questions during yesterday’s press conference.

“She made it very clear that the contents of Balasubramaniam’s statutory declaration and his recorded interview with his lawyers in Singapore in October 2009 were true.

“She was also clear that she would be maintaining the suit against (Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) and other parties for the damage and suffering caused to her, Balasubramaniam and her family."

He noted that Selvi's also made it clear that she was apologising to Rosmah Mansor, the prime minister’s wife, for alleging that Rosmah was responsible for her husband’s death.

“As far as I am concerned, Balasubramaniam had died of a severe heart attack. Rosmah had no part in that.

"What the world is concerned about are credible allegations that Najib and Rosmah are involved in Altantuya’s murder - not Balasubramaniam’s death.”

In the press conference arranged by Pertubuhan Minda Sosial Dan Prihatin (PMSP) leader Ramesh Rao yesterday, Selvi's had apologised for implying that Rosmah had anything to do with her husband’s death.

She, however, maintained that her husband’s statutory declaration was true.

In 2008, the private investigator made a statutory declaration implicating Najib and his associate Abdul Razak Baginda in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

The following day, however, he recanted his accusations, made in a second statutory declaration, before fleeing the country with his family.

After his return in 2013, Balasubramaniam affirmed that his first statutory declaration was true.