Prime Minister Najib and wife visit the ailing Sultan Kelantan .
The ailing Sultan of Kelantan, Tuanku Ismail Petra, whose poor health has resulted in squabbling between two of his sons over who will act in his place, is to remain warded at Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kubang Kerian for follow-up treatment for his heart problem, comptroller of the Kelantan Royal Household, Datuk Abdul Halim Hamad said today.
Bernama quoted Abdul Halim as saying there were no plans as yet to transfer the ruler to another hospital, such as Kuala Lumpur Hospital. He said the sultan was admitted to the hospital last Tuesday.
The Sultan's second wife, Che Puan Elia Suhana Ahmad, visited her husband at the hospital last night, Bernama reported.
She arrived at the hospital at about 11pm, accompanied by a policewoman and two male aides, and was at the Royal Ward for about two and half hours before leaving about 1.30am today. Elia Suhana was said to be overseas, but returned yesterday after being informed that the Sultan had been admitted to HUSM, Bernama reported.
The Sultan's family has been embroiled in the squabble between the royal brothers for months, especially while the sultan was in hospital in Singapore for eight months.
Earlier this week he was reported to have made two abortive attempts to leave the state for treatment.
Flight aborted
Accompanied by his younger son, the Tengku Temenggong, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, and his consort the Raja Perempuan Kelantan, Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid, he was said to have been due to board a chartered private jet for Singapore for further treatment.
The plane was reported to have been refused permission to land in Kota Baru, press reports said. Another flight to take him to Kuala Lumpur was also aborted.
On Tuesday night, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry was reported to have been questioned by police for several hours, believed to be in connection with the shooting of a Kelantan palace guard. Police are reported to have taken handguns from Tengku Muhammad Fakhry and his bodyguards for forensic testing.
The guard is believed to have been shot in a conspiracy to assassinate the sultan's eldest son, Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, who was named Regent of Kelantan last year when the sultan left for treatment in Singapore.
Marital dispute
Tengku Fakhry has been in a tussle with the Regent since being dropped from the State Succession Council last year.
He had previously been in the headlines when his teenage wife, Indonesian model Manohara Odelia Pinot, fled from Singapore while on a visit to the sultan in hospital, and returned to Indonesia with her mother. She made sensational revelations about being abused by her husband during her marriage.
Tengku Fakhry has since taken out several court actions against her.
Earlier today, the Regent, Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, bestowed awards and medals on 344 recipients at a supplementary investiture ceremony at the Istana Balai Besar.
The recipients included three state executive councillors: Agriculture, Rural Industry and Biotechnology chairman Che Abdullah Mat Nawi, State Information, Science Information Development and Technology Committee chairman Dr Mohamed Fadzli Hassan and State Women, Family and Health Committee chairman Wan Ubaidah Omar. They received the Ahli Yang Ketiga (Taulan) Bagi Darjah Kebesaran Jiwa Mahkota Yang Amat Mulia (JMK).
Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, met after the investiture ceremony, said he did not receive any information on the Sultan's health. "I would like to visit him at the hospital if there is an opportunity for me to do so," he added.
