Barely weeks after the RM440 million upgrade to Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kota Bharu, the brand-new departure hall and its dedicated flyover ramp have already been hijacked by illegal mat rempit racers. What was supposed to be a modern gateway to welcome tourists and boost the state’s economy has instead become a free drag strip for reckless bikers.
This is the same Kelantan that loves to politicise every federal project. When the government upgraded and expanded Penang International Airport, certain quarters screamed racism and unfair treatment. But when the federal government poured RM440 million into Kelantan’s airport to modernise the facilities, what do we get in return? A shiny new terminal turned into a playground for mat rempit.
There is an old saying: You can build them a world-class airport, but you can’t change low-class mentality.
This incident perfectly captures the problem. World-class infrastructure, walaun-standard discipline.
How does a state that claims to be neglected allow its newest public asset to be vandalised and abused so quickly? Is this how Kelantan plans to attract tourists — with images of mat rempit doing wheelies right outside the arrival hall?
Kelantan is already infamous for high rates of mat rempit activities, ketum abuse, drug-related issues, and sexual offences. Mat rempit culture is not harmless fun — reckless motorcycle racers contribute heavily to road fatalities, with motorcyclists accounting for the majority of Malaysia’s annual road deaths (around 16434 cases in recent years), many linked to illegal racing and dangerous riding.
Yet these same groups continue to play the victim card — blaming the federal government for every problem, crying about oil price hikes, discrimination, and poverty.
Funny how they can afford to fill their tanks for midnight racing sessions while claiming to be too poor to develop.
The deeper hypocrisy is even more glaring:
- Radical PAS leaders love to portray themselves as the most holy and Islamic guardians of the faith.
- Yet the social stigma plaguing Kelantan — rampant mat rempit culture, widespread ketum and drug abuse (Kelantan consistently records the highest drug addiction rates in Malaysia), rising sexual crimes, and youth delinquency — is anything but Islamic.
- How can they claim moral superiority while presiding over such regressive behaviour?
- They seem too busy obsessing over alcohol bans and minor “moral” issues to address the much bigger weaknesses, flaws, and serious crimes destroying their own society.
- How can Kelantan ever progress when its leadership remains so regressive? Prioritising symbolic piety over real discipline, education, and enforcement only keeps the state backwards.
The hard truth is this: No amount of federal money or infrastructure will save a state if the people refuse to change their mindset. Trillions can be poured into roads, airports, hospitals, and schools, but if the dominant culture remains one of lawlessness, entitlement, and selective morality, the state will stay stuck in the past.
Kelantan leaders and the local community must stop making excuses and start taking ownership. Enforce the law strictly. Educate the youth. Stop glorifying or tolerating thuggish behaviour. Otherwise, all these expensive upgrades are just throwing good money after bad.
A modern airport deserves modern citizens. Right now, Kelantan is failing that basic test — spectacularly.
Source : X
