January 24, 1997
"Thanks for including notes about Kota Bharu, my birth place. It is always great to see, read,
and/or hear what other people say about the place, especially when I'm completing my Master's
thesis about the town.
"I don't really know whether you did travel to other parts of Malaysia, but Kelantan and
Kelantanese are widely regarded by Malaysians as uniquely different from the rest of the
country. This might be due to several reasons, such as being "isolated" for a long period of
time from other parts of the country due to geographical reasons, being closer to Thailand
(Kelantan was under the sovereignty of the Siam Kingdom prior to the British colonial period),
speak a totally different dialect from others, and etc."
-AZAM
