Kelantan wealth in the hands of the federal government
PASIR MAS - Kelantan is deprived of material progress despite being awash with natural resources, but while the state's wealth is in the hands of the federal government, its people do hold an upper hand in terms of individual assets.
A Pas fanatic, who wanted to be known as Alias, 58, said that Kelantan was rich with petroleum, but the federal government sees to it that the east coast state and Terengganu do not qualify for it.
"Kelantan is actually rich in oil sources, but the Kelantanese have still not received benefits of the petroleum royalties from the federal government.
"Yes, the state government does not have a huge income like other states in Malaysia. If this royalty is given to us, I’m pretty sure that Kelantan will have better development in many aspects," he told Sinar Daily.
Recently, Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Said Othman told the Dewan Rakyat that Kelantan and Terengganu do not qualify for a five per cent royalty on petroleum because Petronas extracts crude oil beyond the state's three nautical mile limit.
Alias, a Universiti Malaya (UM) graduate with a degree in Economics, went on to say that the state's development can be measured not only by the number of skyscrapers, but also by education.
"In Kelantan, what I am proud of the Pas leadership for is its commitment to Islamic education for every person here.
"First of all, we need to understand that this Pas is ‘harakatul dakwah'. Pas is a da'wah party, which means this party is using the Quran, Hadith, Ijma Ulama, and Qiyas as Islamic education sources.
"Education is abstract; we don't see it, but education with Islamic elements brought by Pas is a successful thing," he added.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Islamic influencers who are using social media to educate young people on how to practise Islam better.
"We now see many Islamic influencers, such as Ustaz Wadi Anwar, Ustaz Asmah Harun, and Ustaz Azhar Idrus, using social media to educate young people.
"So I think this is a very good start to attract Muslim youth because they are the future of our country." Speaking on the economic development of Muslim Malays in Kelantan, he said that around the Lembah Sireh area in Kota Bharu, is a place where Muslim Malays work, earn a living and do business.
"Besides that, there are many Kelantan Malays who have a lot of real estate in Kelantan. Whereas in states other than Kelantan, we can see just how many Muslim Malays own real estate.
"If we look in Pahang, we see many plots of land that have been developed illegally. In Kelantan, none of this happens," he added.
On the issue of flooding in Kelantan, Alias said Kelantan due to its location experiences more rainfall than the other states.
"The 2022 flood in Pasir Mas was a huge flood disaster. The flood barrier in Sungai Lanchang is a main reason, and this needs to be resolved.
"So I urge the federal or state governments to solve flood problems", he stressed.
When asked for his views on the 100 days of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership, he said Anwar was only able to reduce the budget for each ministry.
"I am a fan of Anwar Ibrahim. He is an Islamic person and his family is also a family that upholds the teachings of Islam.
"Before he became Prime Minister, his promises were great. He promised to defend the poor and fight corruption, and this is a very great manifesto. However, since he became Prime Minister, I see everything still not being implemented," he stressed.
Speaking of his hope for the Pas leadership in the upcoming state elections, Alias hoped that the party leaders were more advanced in selecting candidates from various fields.
In fact, he said that Islam teaches us to choose a leader who is an expert in each field.
"For example, if the committee is in agriculture, we need to choose a candidate who is an expert in agriculture."
