PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Kelantan state secretary has issued a directive ordering all state and federal offices to display the official portraits of only four individuals.

Missing from the list was the Malaysian King and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad whose pictures routinely adorn all government offices.

The Malaysian King, Pahang Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin, was installed after the unexpected abdication of the ruler of Kelantan, Sultan Muhammad V, in January.

The Kelantan ruler was the only one of the nine hereditary Malay rulers who was absent when the Pahang sultan was crowned as the new king in February.

In Kelantan, an administrative order signed by the deputy state secretary (administration) Datuk Adnan Hussin said that all government offices in Kelantan must display only the portraits of:

- Sultan Muhammad V;

- the Crown Prince or Tengku Mahkota, Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra;

- the ruler's father Sultan Ismail Petra;

- and the state's Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob.

"Only the portraits as mentioned can be displayed in all state and federal government offices, while other portraits are hereby forbidden to be displayed," the order read.

State government and private sector offices customarily display not only the portraits of their respective rulers, menteri besar and chief ministers, but also those of the Malaysian King and the prime minister.

A Kelantan government source confirmed that the order, dated April 1, was genuine.

The order was addressed to the state and federal department heads, the management of statutory bodies and local councils, as well as the heads of private firms and non-governmental organisations in Kelantan.