Kelantan
(1995 est. pop. 1.3 million). Kelantan, located on the northeast coast of the Malay Peninsula, covers an area of 14,943 square kilometers. It is an agrarian state with lush paddy fields, fishing villages, and palm-fringed beaches. Its main cash crops are paddy, rubber, tobacco, and fruits. Fishing, live-stock rearing, and timber production are also important economic activities, besides its handicraft cottage industry. The population is approximately 94 percent Malay, 4.5 percent Chinese, and 0.5 percent Indian. With its predominantly Malay population, Kelantan has kept its traditional character. Kota Baharu, its capital, is a center for the arts and crafts, particularly batik and silverwork, for which the state is famous. The womenfolk in Kelantan dominate life in the markets and hawker centers while their menfolk are mainly fishermen or farmers. The Kelantanese are Malaysia's most conservative Muslims and have voted a hard-line Islamic opposition into power.
Historically, Kelantan had always been a vassal. By the fourteenth century, Kelantan was under Siamese suzerainty. At that time, it was also under the influence of the Javanese Majapahit empire. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Kelantan was sending tribute to the Melaka sultanate and its successor, Johor. Problems of leadership and internal strife were part of Kelantan's history during most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1800, one local chief, Long Mohammad, proclaimed himself the first sultan of Kelantan. Upon the death of the heirless Sultan Mohammad, succession disputes again erupted. In 1909, through a treaty, Siam (Thailand) ceded its suzerainty of Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis, and Terengganu to the British. Together with Johor, these became the Unfederated Malay States. In 1948, the Unfederated Malay States became part of the Federation of Malaya. The federation gained independence from British colonial rule in 1957. Together with Sabah and Sarawak, the federation formed the country Malaysia in 1963.
Further Reading
Andaya, Barbara Watson, and Leonard Y. Andaya. (1982) A History of Malaysia. London: Macmillan.
Eliot, Joshua, and Jane Bickersteth, eds. (1995) Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore Handbook. Bath, U.K.: Trade and Travel Publications Ltd.
Winstedt, Richard. (1966) Malaya and Its History. London: Hutchinson & Co. Ltd.
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