TWO Kelantan Amanah leaders, Husam Musa and Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah have returned the awards bestowed on them by the sultan of Kelantan, after being ordered to do so by the palace.

In a joint statement, both said they received a letter from the Kelantan state secretary yesterday that Sultan Muhammad V has withdrawn their award, which carries the honorific “Datuk Paduka”.

“As requested by the sultan, we returned the award to the palace today,” they said while continuing to pledge loyalty to the sultan.

Wan Rahim told The Malaysian Insight he received the letter yesterday about 5.15pm.

“Yes, I received (the letter) yesterday and we returned the awards this morning,” said the Amanah Kelantan chairman.

Husam is a former Kelantan executive councillor and is the Kelantan Pakatan Harapan state chairman.

The removal of the title is an indication of Sultan Muhammad V’s disapproval of Husam and Wan Rahim’s political affiliations.

In 2010, the ruler withdrew an award he had bestowed upon veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, following the Gua Musang MP’s statement on the appointment of Sultan Muhammad V as the sultan of Kelantan.

Tengku Razaleigh had, at the time, pointed out that Sultan Ismail Petra, who was ill, was the rightful sultan.

That same year, Sultan Muhammad V withdrew an award from two other individuals – former state government secretary Wan Hashim Wan Daud and Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali – over the same issue. –  February 7, 2018.