Federal Court strikes out former Sultan’s third petition

Former Kelantan ruler Sultan Ismail Petra loses his bid to challenge ascension of his eldest son to the throne.

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court here today struck out a petition from former Kelantan ruler, Sultan Ismail Petra, to challenge the ascension of his eldest son, Sultan Muhammad V, to the throne.

Court of Appeal president Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, leading a three-man panel, allowed the application by Sultan Muhammad V (Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra), to strike out his father’s third petition which had sought to declare his (Sultan Muhammad V) proclamation as the Sultan, as unconstitutional.

The application to strike out the petition was filed on the grounds that Sultan Ismail Petra did not have the locus standi to institute the petition and that the proper forum to determine this dispute was the Special Court.

This was because Tengku Muhammad Faris is now the ruler of Kelantan, and institution of claim disputing the succession of a ruler must be at the Special Court.

The panel’s decision was handed down in the absence of lawyers representing Sultan Ismail Petra.

His previous lawyers, Raja Aziz Addruse and Abdul Rashid Ismail, discharged themselves on Jan 18, from representing him after the court denied their request for the hearing of the petition to be heard in mid-March because Raja Aziz would only be completing his medical treatment at a hospital in Singapore in early March. The panel, which also comprised Federal Court judge Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Court of Appeal judge Hasan Lah, struck out the petition with no orders on costs. The third petition which was filed on Sept 20, last year, sought the Federal Court’s opinion on legal issues over the purported amendment of the state constitution and the appointment of the regent as Sultan.

On Sept 13, last year, the state Council of Royal Succession had appointed Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra as Sultan of Kelantan, replacing his father, who has been incapacitated since May 2009.

On Nov 26, last year, two petitions questioning the extent of the Regent’s power and authority during a Sultan’s incapacitation filed by Tuanku Ismail Petra, were dismissed by the Federal Court.

The Federal Court had, in those two petitions, ruled that the former ruler did not have the legal standing to refer questions for determination of the apex court.

In today’s proceedings, counsel Sunil Abraham representing Sultan Muhammad V informed the court that he had informed Sultan Ismail Petra of today’s hearing date, via a letter on Jan 28, this year.

He said a copy of his submission of the application to strike out the petition was also attached, together with the letter.

Kelantan legal adviser Azlan Abdul Halim appeared for the second respondent, the Kelantan Government.

-Bernama