KOTA BARU: The highlight for Kelantan in 2017 was the installation of Sultan Muhammad V as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The appointment of Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong by the Conference of Rulers was celebrated with pride by the Kelantan people.
Described by many as a people-oriented ruler, Sultan Muhammad V is the second ruler from Kelantan to be appointed as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. His late grandfather, Sultan Yahya Petra Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim, was the sixth Yang di-Pertuan Agong from Sept 21, 1975 until March 29, 1979.
Sultan Muhammad V replaced the then Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, whose term as the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong ended on Dec 12, 2016.
Kelantan mufti Datuk Mohamad Shukri Mohamad said Sultan Muhammad V was the pride of the people in the state.
The launch of the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in August will also see the state reaping the benefits once completed.
It is expected to spur the state’s economy, particularly for residents living around the Tok Bali fishing port in Pasir Puteh.
Tok Bali will see the construction of an ECRL station that caters to both cargo and passengers.
The proposed stations at Jelawat in Bachok, Tunjung in Kota Baru, Wakaf Baru and Pengkalan Kubor in Tumpat would provide transportation for passengers.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed reportedly said that ECRL was crucial to attracting investors to states in the east coast, especially Kelantan.
Allocation was given to the construction of a hospital in Bachok, an Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) and a new bridge in Kampung Nibong, Tumpat, to address the prolonged floods in the area.
The Health Ministry approved an allocation of RM140 million for the construction of Bachok Hospital in Kampung Bator, Jelawat, where the ground-breaking for the site was officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on March 12.
The hospital, expected to be ready in 2019, will benefit more than 156,000 residents in the area.
The UTC, which would be the 18th to be built since its introduction in 2012, would be built at Jalan Hamzah, here, at a cost of RM37.8 million.
Early this year, the prime minister announced the construction of the bridge, worth about RM10 million, to address the prolonged floods in Kampung Nibong, Tumpat.
This year, however, a major accident that killed seven religious school students in Kampung Telekung, Kuala Krai, shocked many on June 2.
The group was on their way to attend a Quran recital at Madinah Ramadan, near Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium in Kota Baru, when the van skidded, plunged into a ravine and turned turtle before crashing into the front of a house in Kampung Telekung.
The victims, from Maahad Tahfiz Al-Hashimi Kampung Tualang in Kuala Krai, were identified as Nik Ahmad Daniel Nik Ahmad and Ahmad Farhan Zulkifli, both 14, Nik Shah Jehan Nik Azmin and Muhamad Rahman Rozali, 17, Mohamad Hafiz Aimullah Mustafa, 18, and Thai citizen Sarifuddin Muhammad.