Plans to take ailing Kelantan Sultan to KL Hospital cancelled
(The Star) – The plan to send the ailing Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Ismail Petra Sultan Yahya Petra to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for further medical treatment was called off after his blood pressure shot up.
The Sultan and his consort Raja Perempuan of Kelantan Tengku Anis Tengku Hamid were to have boarded a private jet at 2.30pm but that was cancelled after the jet was refused permission to land at the airport, sources said.
It was not immediately known when the Sultan would be healthy to travel.
On May 4, the Sultan was taken from his residence to the Universiti Sains Hospital in Kubang Kerian for treatment.
He and his consort have since been at the hospital where no visitors, including his lawyers, were allowed.
This appears to be the latest episode in the tussle for power between the sons of the Sultan.
The Sultan has not spoken in public since mid-2009 because of heart problems that kept him hospitalised in Singapore for several months.
He returned to Kelantan in February, but his condition remains a subject of deep speculation, AP reported.
Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, the state’s crown prince, ordered police late Wednesday to step up vigilance at a Kelantan hospital where the 60-year-old sultan is receiving treatment, according to a palace statement.
A palace official said said the measure was prompted by “several incidents” in the past week, including a murder attempt on a palace guard who is in intensive care for severe chest wounds after being shot four times by an unknown assailant while returning from work.
Faris’ younger brother, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, was questioned by police after the shooting, but authorities have not said whether they believe he was connected to it, AP reported.
Faris, 40, is embroiled in a feud with Fakhry. He removed Fakhry last September from the state’s powerful Council of Succession, which determines who ascends to the throne.
State authorities, apparently loyal to Faris, prevented Fakhry from having the Sultan sent back to Singapore for further treatment earlier this week.
Fakhry’s representatives have indicated they believe the sultan was being held against his will at the Kelantan hospital, AP said.
