Kelantan palace comptroller Abdul Halim Hamad has denied rumours that Sultan Muhammad V would be participating in a function within the Galas constituency soon.

"For now, there is no function (in Gua Musang)," said Abdul Halim when contacted today.

Abdul Halim was asked to respond to claims by the Rocky's Bru blog - run by Malay Mail editorial advisor Ahirudin Attan - that the sultan would be officiating a government function to hand out land titles to the Orang Asli community within the constituency.

According to the author, there were rumours that the sultan will be brought to the area specifically to help shore up support for PAS, which is contesting in the Galas by-election.

"This move could be vital for PAS, which has come under intense pressure from the BN for allegedly isolating these indigenous people from its development policies all these years.

"It could also be suicidal. For its own good, the palace has always stayed away from political campaigns such as this one, so any precedent set would be a dangerous one," wrote Ahirudin.

Commenting further, Abdul Halim said that the palace would investigate the blog's claim.

Meanwhile, Gua Musang district officer Wan Mustapha Wan Ab Hamid said he was unaware of any functions concerning the awarding of land grants to the Orang Asli community.

"This is not right. No. I did not hear about this," he said when contacted.

He added that the sultan will not be involved in the election campaign.

"The sultan is always neutral. He cannot be involved an election campaign," said Wan Mustapha, who is also the returning officer for the by-election.