Muhammad V of Kelantan


Sultan Muhammad V is the current Sultan of Kelantan and served as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from 13 December 2016 to 6 January 2019. He was proclaimed Sultan of Kelantan on 13 September 2010, succeeding his father, Sultan Ismail Petra, who was deemed incapacitated by illness. He was proclaimed Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 13 December 2016. In an unprecedented move, Muhammad V became the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong to step down from the throne, effective 6 January 2019 while his term was to end on 12 December 2021.

Early life and regency

Born Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra ibni Tengku Ismail Petra at Istana Batu, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. He is the eldest son of Sultan Ismail Petra and Raja Perempuan Tengku Anis.
Tengku Faris received his early education at SK Sultan Ismail, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, and thereafter at Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur. He left for the United Kingdom to study at Oakham School, Rutland, England. He then attended St Cross College, Oxford and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies to study diplomatic studies, graduating in 1991. He also studied at Huron University College, London, Ontario, Canada; Deutsche Stiftung für Internationale Entwicklung, Berlin, Germany; and the European Business School, London, United Kingdom.
He was made the Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan on 30 March 1979 and formally installed at Balairong Sri, Istana Balai Besar, Kota Bharu, Kelantan on 6 October 1985.
On 14 May 2009, his father, Sultan Ismail Petra, suffered a major stroke. Sultan Ismail Petra was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore and Tengku Faris was appointed Regent on 25 May in the Sultan's absence.

Reign

Accession

On 13 September 2010, Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra was proclaimed the 29th Sultan of Kelantan, in accordance with Article 29A of the State Constitution which states that a Sultan can no longer be king if he is not viable to rule for a period of more than a year. He took the regnal name Sultan Muhammad V. However, his father, Sultan Ismail Petra, had petitioned the Federal Court to declare his appointment unconstitutional. Sultan Ismail Petra at that time was recovering from the stroke he suffered in 2009.
Sultan Muhammad V attended the 222nd Meeting of the Conference of Rulers for the first time as a full member in October 2010. This marked the recognition of his accession as Sultan by other rulers.
Sultan Muhammad V is the Royal Artillery Regiment current Colonel-in-Chief, and also of the Kor Risik DiRaja, both of the Malaysian Army, as all his predecessors have been.

Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong

Sultan Muhammad V was elected Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong in October 2011. He served in that post from 13 December 2011 until his election as Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 13 December 2016.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong

Sultan Muhammad V was elected by the Conference of Rulers on 14 October 2016 to become the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state of Malaysia. His reign began on 13 December 2016, taking over from Abdul Halim, the Sultan of Kedah. Sultan Muhammad V was installed as the fifteenth Yang Di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia on 24 April 2017 in a ceremony held at the Istana Negara, Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur. At 47, Sultan Muhammad V was the fourth youngest Yang di-Pertuan Agong to be elected, after Tuanku Syed Putra of Perlis, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu and Tuanku Abdul Halim of Kedah.
His eldest younger brother, Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra, the Tengku Mahkota, served as Regent of Kelantan throughout Muhammad V's tenure as Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
He was made an Honorary Fellow of his former College, St Cross College, Oxford on 28 February 2018.
In an unprecedented move, Sultan Muhammad V became the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong to step down from the throne, effective 6 January 2019 while his term should have ended on 12 December 2021.

Personal life

Sultan Muhammad V married Tengku Zubaidah binti Tengku Norudin bin Tengku Muda, member of the Pattani royal family on 15 November 2004. They divorced in 2008.
As a divorcee, he was the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong in Malaysian history to reign without a Raja Permaisuri Agong consort.
In late 2010, he married a Diana Petra
In late November 2018, it was incorrectly reported that while on leave from the country, Sultan Muhammad V had married former beauty pageant contestant Oksana Voevodina in Barvikha, Russia. No official statement was released by the Malaysian Government to confirm or deny the matter. However, the reported marriage in Moscow was in actual fact a party to enable Oksana Voevodina's friends and family to celebrate the couple's official Islamic wedding, which had taken place in private on the 7 June 2018, in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, following Oksana's conversion to Islam in April 2018. There is no official record of a marriage in Russia. Voevodina won the Miss Moscow title in 2015. Media reported the birth of their son Tengku Ismail Leon Petra ibni Sultan Muhammad V on 21 May 2019. On 1 July 2019, Sultan Muhammad V divorced her by a "talak tiga" or talaq baayin that is the irrevocable divorce and most severe divorce in Islam, after filing of documents at the Singapore Syariah Court earlier on 22 June. On 6 September he acknowledged that the marriage did take place.

Titles and styles

Sultan Muhammad V's full style and title is in Malay: Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Muhammad V, D.K., D.K.M., D.M.N., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., S.P.M.K., S.J.M.K., S.P.K.K., S.P.S.K., S.P.J.K., Al-Sultan Kelantan
in English: His Royal Highness Sultan Muhammad V, D.K., D.K.M., D.M.N., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., D.K., S.P.M.K., S.J.M.K., S.P.K.K., S.P.S.K., S.P.J.K., Al-Sultan of Kelantan

Awards and recognitions

Honours

He has been awarded:

Kelantan

As Sultan of Kelantan :
Several places were named after him, including: