THE KING AND I? The picture that was emailed to The Malay Mail this morning

KUALA LUMPUR: One of the two women brought into the royal suite at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore is the second wife of the Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Ismail Petra, it has been revealed.

A source close to the Kelantan palace confirmed this morning that the Sultan's second wife and her personal assistant had visited the ailing ruler.

The clarification quells suggestions of hanky-panky as a bodyguard of the Kelantan Raja Perempuan, Mohd Fadzli Awang, had alleged in his police report that the unknown women were sneaked into the ward after the video surveillance camera was covered with newspaper.

He had claimed that a bodyguard had brought the women before leaving the royal suite.

Mohd Fadzli had claimed that the same guard had returned with two men, one believed to be a Malaysian police inspector. The guard and the police officer, he had claimed in his report, waited outside the ward.

“The parties concerned then left the ward about two hours later. It is unknown what their intention was by coming to the ward at that hour,” he had claimed.

Mohd Fadzli Awang had also said the Sultan’s third son, Tengku  Temenggong Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, had ordered him to lodge a report for police to investigate and take appropriate action against the intruders.

The clarification on the women's status came after a Press statement, allegedly from the Sultan's second wife, was circulated via e-mail to the media, including The Malay Mail, this morning.

In the statement, accompanied by copies of the marriage certificate and marriage card, the sender claiming to be the Sultan's second wife claimed that she had decided to clear the air after allegations of hanky-panky had surfaced from her visit.

The email sender, known as Elia Suhana Ahmad, claimed that only a handful were privy about the marriage between her and Sultan Ismail.

She claimed that her wedding had been witnessed by family members as well as Kelantan's State officials on Dec 23, 2007. A picture of her, the Sultan and an elderly couple also accompanied her email.

Elia claimed that the earlier reports had taken a negative slant and she was obliged to clarify the issue to ensure that the Kelantan monarch would not be mocked and the role of the police not misunderstood.

It had been reported that a royal guard had allegedly brought in two unknown women at 4.20am on Oct 8.

It had also been reported that some 20 royal guards, allegedly police personnel, had also besieged the ward and insulted the Raja Perempuan Kelantan, Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid.

lt was learnt that personal security officers of the Raja Perempuan had lodged five reports of alleged misconduct by Kelantan police personnel between October and November at the hospital.

Kelantan police chief SAC 1 Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi had declined comment since the police report was lodged in Singapore.

ALSO READ: POLICE RUCKUS IN ROYAL WARD