Who has authority, the Sultan or the Regent?

It appears that it is the regent that has the authority, not the
Sultan.

It is like the acting Prime Minister who has authority over the Prime
Minister who is ill or sick or overseas.

It also happened in Sabah when Haris Salleh, as the unconfirmed Acting
Chief MInister of Sabah had signed away all Sabah's rights for
nothing, i.e. not more than 10% royalty, which means the royalty can
be zero, all by himself, witnessed by Pairin Kitingan.

I pity the Sultan's Secretary who had to carry out the Sultan's verbal
orders. He is now imprisoned even longer by now.

March 25, 2010 19:04 PM
Tengku Aziz's Appointment Unconstitutional, Tengku Faris Still Regent
KOTA BAHARU, March 25 (Bernama) -- The appointment of the chairman of
the State Council of Regency, Tengku Abdul Aziz Hamzah, 76, as the new
Regent of Kelantan was unconstitutional, Comptroller of the Kelantan
Royal Household Datuk Abdul Halim Hamad said Thursday.

With this, he said, the Kelantan Sultan's eldest son, Tengku Muhammad
Faris Petra Sultan Ismail Petra, the Crown Prince, was still the
Regent.

"The appointment (of Tengku Abdul Aziz) was not in accordance with the
State Constitution because any appointment or dismissal requires the
approval of two-thirds of the members of the State Council of Regency
and not from one person."

Abdul Halim was commenting on the report that the Sultan of Kelantan,
Sultan Ismail Petra Yahya Petra, had stripped the post of Regent from
Tengku Muhammad Faris with immediate effect.

The decision was said to have been conveyed by Tuanku Ismail Petra to
Tengku Abdul Aziz and the announcement read out by the Sultan's
private secretary, Datuk Wan Hashim Wan Daud, at Istana Mahkota.

According to Wan Hashim, the Sultan was said to have ordered that the
post of Regent be handed over to Tengku Abdul Aziz, the brother of Gua
Musang member of parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

On the Sultan's condition, he said the Sultan was able to speak and
still had a good memory.

He said Tengku Abdul Aziz was of the opinion that there was no need
for members of the State Council of Regency to meet over the dismissal
of Tengku Muhammad Faris as Regent because the Sultan was able to
speak and make a royal command while the action was also not wrong.

Wan Hashim said Tengku Muhammad Faris and the state government would
be informed of the said announcement.

Yesterday, Tengku Muhammad Faris said his father, the Kelantan Sultan,
was still unwell while he remained as Regent since his appointment on
May 29 last year following the Sultan's admission into Mount Elizabeth
Hospital in Singapore after falling ill.

Tengku Muhammad Faris said all reports on his father's state of health
other than that came from the appointed medical specialists, were
inaccurate.

Meanwhile, State Secretary Datuk Mohd Aiseri Alias confirmed at a
press conference later today that Tengku Muhammad Faris was still the
Regent, while the earlier announcement made by Wan Hashim on his
removal from the post was of no effect as it did not represent the
State Council of Regency.

Mohd Aiseri, who is also the secretary of the Council, said Tengku
Abdul Aziz had acted on his own without calling for a meeting of the
Council. Hence, his action was wrong and unconstitutional.

At the same press conference, Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakub
said the state government's stand on the matter was in accordance with
the State Constitution.

"Tengku Muhammad Faris is still the Regent although others have
announced that he has been dismissed.

"This matter needs no further discussion nor require a constitutional
amendment or an emergency sitting of the State Legislative Assembly,"
he said.

Ahmad said in a bid to end the palace crisis, Deputy State Secretary
Shafie Ismail had lodged a police report on today's incident.

He also advised the people in the state to respect the law and the
State Constitution.

-- BERNAMA