KELANTAN ruler Sultan Muhammad V has made his second wife the sultanah, some three years after his marriage to a former Russian beauty queen ended in divorce and he stepped down as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Kelantan state secretary Datuk Nazran Muhammad said Sultan Muhammad declared today that his consort Nur Diana Petra Abdullah is now the Sultanah Kelantan.
Meanwhile, his sister-in-law, Sofie Louise Johansson Petra, the consort of Kelantan crown prince Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra, is now Che Puan Makhota (crown princess).
“The declarations of these titles come into effect today,” Nazran said in a statement, adding that the proclamation was made in accordance with Clause (1) Article 43 of the Kelantan Constitution (Part Two).
Pictures of the newly-styled Kelantan sultanah and crown princess were not made available.
In 2004, Sultan Muhammad married Pattani royalty Tengku Zubaidah Tengku Zorudin. He divorced her in 2008.
He married Nur Diana (previously known as Yana Yakoubka) in 2010. He was also appointed as the Kelantan sultan that year, and assumed the role of deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong the following year.
After serving as deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong for 13 years from December 2011 to December 2016, Sultan Muhammad’s reign as Yang di-Pertuan Agong began.
Rihana Petra
In November 2018, it was reported that Sultan Muhammad had married former Miss Moscow Oxana Andreevna Voevodina (better known by her Muslim name and Instagram handle, Rihana Petra) in Russia.
No official statement was issued by the Kelantan palace confirming this at the time.
The following year, a child was born to the couple, Tengku Ismail Leon Petra. However, media reports had highlighted doubts about the paternity of their child, with the matter even being brought to a Moscow court.
Amidst all this, Sultan Muhammad abdicated from the throne in January 2019, three years before the end of his term. The unprecedented move was said to be prompted by criticism over his marriage to Oxana.
The aftermath
In July 2019, Sultan Muhammad reportedly divorced Oksana through the Islamic talak tiga irrevocable divorce system. A divorce certificate was said to be issued by the Kelantan Shariah Court.
After Oxana continued to post photos of her life with Sultan Muhammad on Instagram, the Kelantan palace eventually responded in September 2019, condemning the postings as “inappropriate and defamatory”.
Likely in response to Oksana’s postings that her son is the state’s crown prince, the state palace said titles such as Raja Permaisuri Kelantan, Raja Perempuan Kelantan and Sultanah Kelantan cannot be used by anyone unless bestowed officially.
The palace also said Sultan Muhammad’s brother, Tengku Muhammad Faiz, is the rightful crown prince.
It added that the sultan expressed “regret” that “personal choices made in his private life” had led to public confusion. – Aug 2, 2022
Main photo credit: The Sun Daily
