Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said today it was better for him to maintain his silence rather than give his opinion on the Kelantan palace crisis.

He said although he was considered as the advisor to the Sultan, it was better for him to remain silent in this case rather than take any action that might offend a particular party as it was an internal family problem.

As such, he denied that he had failed to administer the state following his silence in the crisis that had occurred in the Kelantan palace.

"To me, since taking over the state's administration almost 20 years ago, I consider myself successful in developing the state. Who said I have failed?

"As for the palace crisis, it's a matter within the royal family. I purposely did not want to interfere in family matters," he told reporters after a function at Pengkalan Chepa, near Kota Bharu today.

He said this in response to the statement by the president of the Malay right-wing group Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa, Ibrahim Ali, that the Kelantan palace crisis would not have prolonged if Nik Abdul Aziz had played his role as advisor to the Sultan and Regent of Kelantan.

Nik Abdul Aziz said he and the members of the State Executive Council would visit the Sultan as soon as a date had been set by state secretary Aiseri Alias.

Meanwhile in another development, Kelantan deputy police chief Amir Hamzah Ibrahim said the Sultan of Kelantan, Tuanku Ismail Petra Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra was taken home to Istana Mahkota today after having undergone follow-up treatment for heart ailment for five days at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) in Kota Bharu.

He said the Sultan was taken home to Istana Mahkota at about 5pm.

The Sultan, who was on a wheelchair, was seen being accompanied by the Raja Perempuan Kelantan Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid, his daughter Tengku Amalin A'Ishah Puteri, HUSM director Dr Mafauzy Mohamed and other members of the royal family.

- Bernama