NEW YORK, Sept 28 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has conveyed his condolences to the family of Sultan Ismail Petra, who died today.

"I feel sad with the news on the death of the former Kelantan Sultan and I express my condolences to his family,” Dr Mahathir told Malaysian journalists at the end of his five-day working visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Dr Mahathir said Sultan Ismail Petra had been ill and deemed incapacitated when his son Sultan Muhammad V took over the Kelantan throne.

"But when Sultan Ismail Petra was the ruler, I had good relations with His Highness. I found him an orderly person and easy to work with,” said the prime minister.

Sultan Ismail Petra was born on November 11, 1949 and ruled Kelantan from March 30, 1980 until May 2009.

His Highness died at the Royal Ward of the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kota Baru, Kelantan. — Bernama