Development is one of the main issues in the fight for the Kelantan state. Both Umno and PAS are dangling the development carrot to woo the voters.

BY SHAHANAAZ HABIB

TO THE uninitiated, Kota Baru can be a bit of a surprise. Over the past year or so kopitiams have sprung up in the city. A number of them are “hip” and came with WiFi.

It is a common sight these days to see young people with laptops surfing the Internet at these kopitiams while sipping coffee.

Even smaller hotels, home stays and the bigger Petronas stations are all wired up. The nice bit is that it is all free.

People also flock to the latest two attractions in town – Tesco and KB Mall – where you can stock up on practically everything from strawberries, cereal and cheese cake to the latest styles of tudung (head scarf) and jeans.

While Kelantese are still fond of their nasi dagang, nasi kerabu and ayam percik, there is no dearth of places selling chicken chop, fish and chips, spaghetti, kebab, cappuccino.

And people – even the kampung folk – have taken up new hobbies like polo, go-kart racing, shooting and flying remote control airplanes. Qi gong, a popular Chinese form of exercise, is also starting to catch on with the locals.

The fact is Kota Baru is happening and less ulu (backward) than a lot of other towns in the country.

Thus it is interesting that development is one of the key election issues in Kelantan, the only state ruled by the Opposition.

Umno accuses PAS, which has been in power for the last 18 years, of incompetence and not doing enough for the people.

It says Kelantan suffers a high unemployment rate and is one of the poorest states in the country and asks that the people make a new choice.

PAS, on the other hand accuses the Umno-led Federal Government of acting like the cruel stepmother.

They say Kelantan has been treated like a stepchild and deprived in the last 18 years of funds for development.

It is also significant that every day about 400 buses leave Kota Baru heading out to other parts of the country. Considering the population of Kelantan is around 1.4 million, 400 buses on a daily basis is quite a substantial number.

The number has not escaped either Umno or the PAS side, which views the situation differently.

Kelantan Umno veteran leader Datuk Hassan Harun for one blames the migration of the Kelantanese people on PAS, saying that thousands are leaving because they are frustrated and unhappy due to the lack of opportunities in the state.

The former supreme council member has been studying trends in Kelantan for years and finds it appalling that the population growth in the state is down to 0.97% – almost zero – which is below the national average of 2.5%.

“We should have around two million people in Kelantan but we fall short because many of the able bodies have moved out,” he says, adding that even Umno divisions, branches, the Youth and Puteri wings have difficulty holding meetings and getting quorum because “everyone is out of the state”.

According to his calculations, about 800,000 Kelantanese have moved out of the state since independence.

Rubbishing the figures of Kelantanese migrants, PAS state exco Zulkifli Mamat nevertheless said migration is a natural process of development.

For him, the 400 or so express buses plying in and out of Kota Baru show that Kelantanese are not taking a one way ticket out because they are going out and coming back in.

There are 751,000 registered voters in the latest electoral roll for Kelantan and depending on whom you talk to, 50,000 to 200,000 are from outstation.

Studying the voting pattern, Hassan says people in areas like Gua Musang, Jeli, Tanah Merah and Kuala Krai tend to vote for Barisan, while PAS’ support is mostly concentrated in the north around Kota Baru in places like Pengkalan Chepa, Kubang Kerian, Machang and Tumpat.

“These areas (in the north) became stripped of Umno supporters when PAS took over. The ambitious people moved out to KL and to the south,” he says, leaving the old and very young in the north.

So while the number of PAS supporters remained, the Umno numbers dwindled, he says, not because of a change of allegiance but simply because people moved away.

“Umno is aware of this and is doing a lot to bring those people back. We just need a combined voters of 10,000 to 20,000 to win in many places and that could make a difference,” he says.

But PAS’ Zulkifli insists that the outstation voters are on their side.

In 2004, PAS won 24 seats against Barisan’s 22. The Islamist party lost one seat a year later in the Pengkalan Pasir by-election.

The odds are that PAS is going to retain it this time. But as they often say in politics “it ain’t over till the fat lady sings”.