Kelantan folk told to be patient over Sultan's divorce issue

© Provided by Media Prima Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob has urged the people to be patient and stay calm, and wait for an official statement from the Kelantan Palace concerning the marital status of Sultan Muhammad V. NSTP/FATHIL ASRI.

KOTA BARU: Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob has urged the people to be patient and stay calm, and wait for an official statement from the Kelantan Palace concerning the marital status of Sultan Muhammad V.

He said only the palace could issue a statement on the divorce of the Sultan and former Russian beauty pageant contestant Rihana Oksana Voevodina.

“At the moment, the state government has not received any official statement from the Kelantan Sultan’s office.

“Normally, any statement from the palace will be sent directly to my office.

“Thus, I would like to advise the people of Kelantan to remain calm and patient on this matter,” Ahmad said after launching the Wahdah Temasek programme at Kolej Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Ismail Petra in Nilam Puri, here, today.

He said the state government’s stand on the issue was made by his deputy, Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, yesterday.

The state government yesterday denied knowledge of the divorce and Amar said the state government could only comment on the issue if there was an official statement from the palace.

He urged those who wanted to know more about the matter, including the media, to contact the palace.

NST’s front-page yesterday reported that the divorce took place after a marriage of just over a year.

They were said to have married on June 7 last year and filed for their divorce at the Singapore Syariah Court in June. - nst