SULTAN Ismail Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra, who was the 28th sultan of Kelantan, was very close to the people when he ruled the state.

He ruled Kelantan from March 30, 1980, until September 2010, after he fell ill and was replaced by his eldest son, Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, who now bears the title Sultan Muhammad V.

His demise today was announced by Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob in a press conference in Kota Darul Naim, Kota Baru, today.

During his rule, he took a great deal of effort to be close to the people, enabling the multiracial populace in the state to stay united.

He was born on Friday, November 11, 1949, at Istana Jahar in the state capital.

He was the only son and youngest child of the late Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim and the late Raja Perempuan Zainab II.

Sultan Ismail Petra was bestowed the title Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Mahkota Kelantan on his 18th birthday in 1967.

On March 30, 1980, he was crowned sultan at Istana Balai Besar at the age of 31, replacing his father.

Sultan Ismail Petra suffered a stroke on May 14, 2009. He received follow-up treatments at Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (USMH), Kubang Kerian.

The Kelantan government then appointed medical specialists to form a medical panel to check his condition.

On the panel’s recommendation that Sultan Ismail Petra was too ill to rule, it was decided that his only son be crowned the new sultan.

Growing up with four elder siblings, namely, Tengku Merjan, Tengku Rozan, Tengku Salwani and Tengku Rohani, he received his secondary education at Maktab Sultan Ismail, Kota Baru, before being tutored by a special English language teacher.

On January 8, 2002, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Political Science from Ramkhamhaeng University in Thailand.

Sultan Ismail Petra married Raja Perempuan Kelantan Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid on December 4, 1968, at Istana Kota Lama.

The Persandingan Diraja ceremony took place at Istana Balai Besar on March 12, 1969, in accordance with the customs of the sultan of Kelantan.

The royal couple had four children – Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, Tengku Muhammad Fa-iz Petra (now the Tengku Mahkota Kelantan), Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra and Tengku Amalin A’ishah Putri.

During his rule, a mosque was built in Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kubang Kerian, and named Al-Sultan Ismail Petra Mosque.

He had also set up Kolej Jamiah Islamiah Al-Islamiah Sultan Ismail Petra and Kolej Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Ismail Petra in Nilam Puri.

A secondary school was also built and named after him – SMK Ismail Petra at Kompleks Sekolah-Sekolah Wakaf Mek Zainab in Kota Baru.

Two primary schools were also named after him, namely, SK Sultan Ismail (1) and SK Sultan Ismail (2). – Bernama, September 28, 2019.