Pasir Mas District

Pasir Mas
Town
Country	Malaysia
State	Kelantan Darul Naim
Seat	Town Pasir Mas
Government
• District officer	Ahmad Robert Bin Abd Rahim
Area
• Total	577.52 km^2 (222.98 sq mi)
Population (2009)
• Total	206,400
• Density	360/km^2 (930/sq mi)

Pasir Mas (Chinese: 巴西馬) is a town, an administrative district (jajahan) and a parliamentary constituency in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Geography

The district of Pasir Mas covers an area of 577 square kilometers and is bordered by the districts of Tumpat to the north, Tanah Merah to the south, Kota Bharu to the east, and the Thai district of Su-ngai Kolok (Malay: Sungai Golok) to the west.

Due to its geographical location, it acts as the main gateway of the East Coast of Malaysia to Thailand and is also traversed by major road transport routes from the West Coast to the state capital of Kota Bharu. The main town of the same name was once the second biggest in the state until the early 1990s when it was overtaken by Tanah Merah. The town is blocked from expanding to the south by the Kelantan River. To the north, the railway line splits the town - further limiting land suitable and desirable for commercial real estate development.

Haphazard development over the past decades has resulted in the mushrooming of residential houses that encircle the town. This makes potential land acquisition for commercial development a complex and costly exercise. A new township is slowly taking shape about four miles away at the Mukim (Hamlet) of Lubuk Jong - a previously swampy area along the road leading to Rantau Panjang.^[1]

History

According to legend, this area which is now known as Pasir Mas was first opened up by Che Leh Ismail who was also known as Che Leh Tok Pendekar. Che Leh Ismail was forced to shift to Pasir Mas from Kota Bharu when his land was taken over by the Sultan to build his palace.

During that time, a religious teacher from Bachok came to teach the Quran to the villagers in Pasir Mas. The religious teacher returned to Bachok after his teachings were completed. However, a few days after the religious teacher returned to Bachok, three pots of gold suddenly appeared in some bushes. The pots of gold then rolled into a pond at the fringe of the bushes. The villagers who witnessed this happening shouted "Mas! Mas!" (Malay for gold) Hence the place was subsequently called Pasir Mas. The word Pasir originated because there was a large field of sand at the bank of the Kelantan River, which was situated near Pasir Mas.^[2]

The district of Pasir Mas was originally part of the district of Kota Bharu. In 1918, the town of Pasir Mas and its surrounding areas were separated from Kota Bharu and granted its own local government.

Population

Pasir Mas as of 2010 Census, it has a population of 189,292 people

Ranking Population Jajahan Pasir Mas.

Rank	Daerah	Population 2000
1	Rantau Panjang	23,714
2	Kubang Gadong	22,931
3	Pasir Mas	21,681
4	Kangkong	16,488
5	Gual Periok	15,326
6	Bunut Susu	15,008
7	Kubang Sepat	14,484
8	Chetok	12,576
9	Lemal	10,753
10	Alor Pasir	9,351

Education

A public institution of higher learning; Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA Pasir Mas (MARA Higher Vocational College); is located in the township of Lubok Jong within the district. A Nurses Training College is located near the Pasir Mas Poliklinik, Jalan Hospital.

Transportation

Rail

A railway station operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) is located here. The station is part of KTM Intercity's Rantau Panjang Line and interchanges with the East Coast Line which ends at the Tumpat railway station.

The nightly Ekspres Timuran from Johor Bahru usually reaches here at around 9:00 am. Ekspres Wau departs at 6:30 pm for the 13-hour journey to KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur. The Rantau Panjang Line continues towards north at Rantau Panjang railway station at the border town of Rantau Panjang and links to the Southern Line of the State Railway of Thailand.

A new railway station which replaced the original one at the same location was completed in July 2008. The reasonable fare attracts small-traders, who would board here with various goods - usually foodstuff from Rantau Panjang - to transport to the interiors. The trains' scheduled arrivals and departures often create traffic jams in the town several times daily. A carriageway connecting Lemal and Kubang Panjang over the railway track has been built to overcome this. Trains no longer stop at the hamlet station of Tok Uban along the way to Tanah Merah.

As of now, all trains service in and out of Pasir Mas had been stopped due to damaged done on the railway by the big flood in December 2014.

Bus

From Pasir Mas town, it is possible to go to any state capital in Peninsular Malaysia without having to change buses. However, buses departing from these state capitals with Kota Bharu as the final destination might not pass through Pasir Mas. But those with Rantau Panjang as the final destination, will.

The most popular inter-state bus company is Transnasional, which is majority-owned by a federal government agency. Syarikat Kenderaan Melayu Kelantan (SKMK) has a monopoly of inter-district and intra-district bus routes. There are direct buses to the main towns of Kota Bharu, Rantau Panjang and Tanah Merah and vice versa; which depart every 30 minutes from 7:00 am to 6:30 pm. The bus station is at the centre of the town; about 100 metres from the train station.

Notable people from Pasir Mas

Actors

• Neelofa

Government

• Tunku Puan Zanariah

Military

• Zulkifeli Mohd Zin

References

1. Pasir Mas District Council : Background (Malay language)
2. Sejarah Malaysia : Origins of Place Names : Pasir Mas

External links

• Towns and Cities in Malaysia

Coordinates: 6°02′N 102°08′E / 6.033°N 102.133°E