I’ve got an interesting comment in the travelogue post “Peninsula Trip Part 2 – Day 2: Kota Bharu” from a reader named F.F. Lin. According to the posting IP, this comment was posted from Australia (not necessarily an Australian though, could be a student studying in Aus).
Thank you for your amazing travelogue. I never knew that a PAS governed state allowed such huge statue of Buddha to be built there. How many temples are there in the State of Kelantan? How about Trengganu? Were the malays friendly? Can the local Chinese there eat pork? Are there Chinese schools in the two states? I heard that the states are governed by extremists.
I may visit these states when I go to Malaysia.
After replying his/her questions, I’m just too tempted to make this a post on its own, hopefully to help creating a fair image to Kelantan, especially the present ruling party. This is my reply (no, I swear I’m not paid to write this :p):
There are simply too many Buddhist temples in Kelantan, especially those of Thai influence (listing of Thai Buddhist temples in Kelantan). Kelantanese Malays are generally very friendly
And yes, Kelantanese Chinese have no issue with eating pork (”bak kut teh” restaurants can be found in Kota Bharu too), they are free to practice any Chinese cultures and celebrate Chinese celebrations like others. Besides, Chinese schools are readily available too. Don’t be fooled by mis-conceptions portrayed from mainstream medias.
By the way, Terengganu is currently (after the 8th Mar 2008 election) under the governance of national ruling party, not PAS.
Saw the extend of negative impressions that mainstream medias have created for Kelantan?? To no surprise, even some Malaysians who have not visited Kelantan before, have some mis-conceptions on the state too. To the uninitiated ones, I have a few Chinese friends from Kelantan, and they are all loving their originating state. During the 8th Mar 2008 general election, many of them flew back to Kelantan, just to cast a vote, at own expense! Seeing they so semangat, you can guess who they are supporting la :p
Frankly speaking, when I first visited Kota Bharu in year 2005, I was surprised to see the scale of Buddhist temples found in Kelantan too. It’s simply unbelievable that some of the largest this and tallest that, among Buddhism places of worship, are all found in this Islamic-ruling state. Similarly, because of the newspaper articles, I had some mis-conceptions on Kelantan too, before my first visit.
If you spend some time in the town, especially at eating places, observing how the Kelantanese Chinese and Malays communicate in Kelantanese accent, you might share the same thought as I do — feel so harmony, it’s just very different from other places.
To me, the only limitation that I personally perceive for Kelantan, is the ban on entertainment sector (no cinema, no karaoke, no pub), due to Islamic ruling. Ya, in a way, though this ban is bringing healthier life-style, but it’s undeniably a limitation some ways, especially on business development.
So, to those who have never visited Kelantan, you may want to witness it for yourself. Wa… as if I’m promoting its tourism sector hahaha
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