sOleiLian

A continuation of my previous trip to Kelantan…

On our 3rd and last day in Kelantan, we headed off to Kota Darulnaim, Kelantan’s state secretariat building complex where its political heart lies.

Look… Even the Sultan and Sultana greeted us at the gates! Haha…

And so we always thought Kelantan’s Islamist government is poor, ultra-conservative, and whatever negative blablas, but this government complex is humongous! Not to mention it looks relatively new and well-maintained. It definitely is a lot larger than the one in my home state, Kedah.

The whole complex was landscaped beautifully. Office buildings aside, the part that actually drew my attention was the beautiful courtyard with fountains. Tucked away in a rather secluded place, it was definitely a surprising discovery for my friends and I. Hey, of course we were shocked because we never thought that the poor and thrifty state government would be so generous in this kinda spending!

This reminds me of Andalucía or somewhere in the Maghreb. So Moorishly beautiful with the palm trees and water features!

A friend who is a Kelantanese native also expressed his shock upon finding this serene quarter. He went, “Walao… Kelantan’s government is so freakin’ rich!” Imagine the laughters that ensued.

Nice, right? Don’t they look more like something you’ll find at a holiday resort?

And oh, we were allowed entry into the parliamentary hall (or something like it, not so sure about the exact term) under the guide of several government officials. My friends and I were late to join the rest of the students because we were wandering around the huge complex on our own.

Once inside, I immediately raised my camera phone up high and tried my best to take some nice shots inside this dimly-lit hall. When I was trying to snap a photo for the 4th or 5th time, a friend warned me that it was prohibited to take photos inside. Ooooooopppsssss! And I was taking pictures so ostentatiously in front of the officials and all my mates just a moment ago. :P

The oh-so precious, rare, invaluable photo that I managed to take. Do appreciate my effort, okay?

So you see, it was actually a good thing to come in late since I didn’t get to hear the rules and regulations. And it was me who got to enjoy the benefits.

Lesson learned: Do not ever arrive at some place way too early or on time. Sometimes being prompt is just no wise. *LMAO*

After leaving Kota Darulnaim, our next destination was the official residence of the Chief Minister of Kelantan. And that means, we were going to meet the PAS spiritual leader, Dato’ Haji Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. Ahem.

But upon arrival, we were told that the Chief Minister was not there at the moment. So we were greeted by some state officials instead, who gave us a good lecture on how well the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has led the state in the past 2 decades. The spokesman told us that the Islamist government allowed non-Muslim worship places to be built as it was their right as per the Islamic teachings. Testaments to this tolerant policy were their permission for the local Thai Buddhist minority to erect some of the largest, tallest, and longest Buddha statues in the region.

True enough, Kelantan’s government has shown religious tolerance unseen in what is supposed to be a more secular and liberal Barisan Nasional (BN), the ruling party of Malaysia. Remember the cases where numerous Hindu temples were demolished in spite of being there for nearly a century as well as the persistent rejection for a Catholic church in Shah Alam to be built despite a duration of more than 10 years? There was even a case where a soon-to-be-built church was told to have a design that resembled a factory than a traditional church so as not to overtly display a Christian character. Well, that’s our dear BN.

The officials had prepared us some breakfast to fill our growling stomachs. While sex segregation at Kelantan’s public malls is already a widely known fact, right here at the Chief Minister’s official residence, males were separated from the females when taking turns to take food! Can you imagine that?

Before leaving, each of us was given a souvenir by the state officials. And guess what, it was a poster of the Chief Minister! Laughters burst out all of a sudden as we didn’t know what we were gonna do with the poster of erm… Tok Guru. Initially, I planned to give it away as a souvenir to my friends back in Penang (I know I was that bad!) but thankfully, a guy from our course approached us and requested for the posters to take home because according to him, he was an ardent fan of the Chief Minister. *ROFL*

Soon it was time to return to Penang. But before that, we managed to make an excursion to Rantau Panjang, a small duty-free town bordering the town of Sungai Kolok in the Southern Thai province of Narathiwat.

Are you able to see Thailand lurking somewhere in the horizon?

There was literally nothing much to see and do in Rantau Panjang. Since I was not into shopping, I was practically bored to death, not to mention the scorching heat of the sun. Most of the stuff being sold here were either cheap goods or imported fakes from Thailand. Those who can’t afford a Louis Vuitton monogram bag but would love to own one, this town is your heaven!

c a t e g o r y | life as a student . passport to nowhere
f l u f f e r p u f f | kelantan . malaysia . travel . university life

30 sOleiLians