Friday, September 25, 2009

On the Beaches of Kelantan

photo from Google

1. During the Hari Raya Eidulfitri holidays I managed to visit two beaches of Kelantan. By the way from the beach of Tumpat on the north of Kelantan to the beach of Dalam Rhu, Pasir Putih, there are many once famous beaches of Kelantan.

2. I drove to Pantai Dasar of Sabak hoping to see the once beautiful beach where I played rubber football in the 60s. Much to my shock and astonishment as I passed the bridge I saw a horrible sight both of the river and also the beach. The river ia dirty and there are fish cages and there is no more beach. What I saw was a long mountain of rocks which were pitted there to save the remaining area from being eroded by the sea.

3. Before Thursday 24th I heard so many stories about the plight of Pantai Dasar but I didn't image it is that bad and horrible. I couldn't recognise the shophouse that serviced the visitors in the 60s that belonged to one of my relatives there.

4. Then I drove to Pantai Irama of Bachok and I found there was no more "irama" or rythym of the sand there anymore. In the 60s I thought it was beautiful with white sandy beach and Casuarina trees lining the paths. What I saw was dirty and smelly beach. There were two workers trying to clean the area but the place is horrible. I was told the public toilet was dirty and filthy! That I didn't dare asking my grandchildren to clean themselves there after playing on the dirty beach before putting on their clean pair of trousers and shirts.

5. What is happening to the Pantai Dasar and Pantai Irama? I am sure the authorities are not blind to see what is happening to our beaches. I talked to some friends who blamed on the coastal engineers who planned the deepening and chanelling the estuary of Tok Bali that eroded those beaches. Of course the coastal engineers must have received instructions from the state planners and other authorities. Some blamed mother nature that eroded those beaches. I saw similar phenomenon at the beach near the Kuala Terengganu airport.

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