Kelantan civil servants and members of the public will observe a 40-day mourning period following the passing away of the former Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Ismail Petra Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra today.
State Secretary Datuk Nazran Muhammad said they must have a white cloth covering the top of their songkok or wear a black tie during the mourning period.
“Meanwhile, members of the royal family, officials and staff of the palace are expected to don mourning attires for 100 days starting today.
“All mosques and surau in Kelantan must hold ‘tahlil’ after the Maghrib prayers for seven consecutive nights,” he told a special press conference today
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah arrived at Istana Kota Lama to pay his last respect to Sultan Ismail Petra. He arrived at the palace at 3.20pm, accompanied by the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim were also spotted arriving at the palace to 2.10pm.
Sultan Ismail Petra was laid to rest at Langgar Royal Mausoleum after Asar prayers. He died at the Royal Ward of the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kota Bharu at 8.11am today. He was 69.
Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob said that a state holiday had been declared on Sunday and Monday following the passing of the 28th Sultan of Kelantan who ruled the state from March 30, 1980, until May 2009.
Sultan Ismail Petra, who had been ill for more than a year after suffering a stroke, was succeeded by his son, Sultan Muhammad V, who ascended the throne on Sept 13, 2010.