Pasir Mas (Jawi: ڤاسير مس,
Kelantanese: ''Pasey Mah'') is a town in
Pasir Mas District
Pasir Mas District is a district (jajahan) in Kelantan, Malaysia. The district covers an area of 614.15 square kilometers and is bordered by the districts of Tumpat District to the north, Tanah Merah District to the south, Kota Bharu District t ...
, in north-western
Kelantan
Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode").
Kelantan is located in the ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
Pasir Mas is Kelantan's second largest city by population (230,424 in 2020 census).
History
According to legend, this area which is now known as Pasir Mas was first opened up by Che Leh Ismail who was also known as Che Leh Tok Pendekar. Che Leh Ismail was forced to move to Pasir Mas from Kota Bharu when his land was taken over by the
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
to build his palace.
During that time, a religious teacher from
Bachok came to teach the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
to the villagers in Pasir Mas. The religious teacher returned to Bachok after his teachings were completed. However, a few days after the religious teacher returned to Bachok, three pots of gold suddenly appeared in some bushes. The pots of gold then rolled into a pond at the fringe of the bushes. The villagers who witnessed this happening shouted ''"Mas! Mas!"'' (Malay for
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
) Hence the place was subsequently called Pasir Mas. The word Pasir originated because there was a large field of sand at the bank of the Kelantan River, which was situated near Pasir Mas.
Development
Haphazard development over the past decades has resulted in the mushrooming of residential houses that encircle the town. This makes potential land acquisition for commercial development a complex and costly exercise. A new township is slowly taking shape about four miles away at the ''
Mukim
A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay from the Arabic word: (meaning ''resident''). The clo ...
'' of
Lubuk Jong - a previously swampy area along the road leading to
Rantau Panjang.
Notable people from Pasir Mas
*
Neelofa
Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor (born 10 February 1989) is a Malaysian actress, television presenter, commercial model and entrepreneur. She rose to fame when participated in a drama queen competition, Dewi Remaja, winning the Dewi Remaja 2009/10 tit ...
, actress
*
Siti Aisyah Rosli, National weightlifter
*
Tunku Puan Zanariah
Tunku Puan Zanariah binti Almarhum Tengku Ahmad, formerly known as Sultanah Zanariah ( Jawi:تونكو ڤوان زنيرة بنت المرحوم تڠکو احمد) (5 July 1940 – 17 March 2019),Information Malaysia (1985), pg 58 was the secon ...
, Tunku Puan of
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
and the 8th
Raja Permaisuri Agong
''Raja Permaisuri Agong'' ( Jawi: راج ڤرمايسوري اݢوڠ; full title: ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong''; سري ڤدوک بݢيندا راج ڤرمايسوري اݢوڠ, literally ''The Que ...
of Malaysia
*
Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, 18th and the former Chief of
Malaysian Armed Forces
The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ms, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia; Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active pers ...
See also
*
Tal Tujuh
References
External links
{{Coord, 6, 02, N, 102, 08, E, region:MY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title
Pasir Mas District
Towns in Kelantan