Rural legends claimed that this place is called Pasir Mas (Golden Sand) because some lucky folks, tens or maybe hundreds of years ago, saw the glittering sand sprawled magically along Sungai Kelantan, just like gold! The fact that many Pasir Masists now are relatively wealthier compared to other districts makes me wonder whether they secretly inherit this fortune from their great-great-great grand parents who found and sold that so-called gold (Further archeological research is needed to verify this).
Urban legends now claim that this place is full of good-looking men and women. That’s flattering, indeed. In normal circumstances, it is a cliche when, after introducing myself and saying that I am from Pasir Mas, an outsider would typically remark: “Patutlah comel!” (Suffice to say, I am not qualified for further comments).
What makes me so attached with this town is its pious treatment to me when I was a teenager. The people were so full of religiously kasih sayang. When I was at the bus station, I could simple leave my stuffs there without worrying about any mat rempiks stealing them. However, I dare not extend this exaggeration now since the bus station has been modified and modernized (morally, I am not sure).
This town is also adjacent to Sungai Kelantan. And this was and still is my favourite spot.
 As a pompous, carefree teenager, I loved hanging out at this place for hours. To view the beautiful river, to feel the cool breeze, to read novels (here cekmi?), to put myself into a nice slumber while waiting for the next kelas tambahan, I took this place as my sanctuary, my place of safety. As a matter of fact, it was the river that actually attracted my attention, not the surrounding artificial make-up of it.
Yes, it now looks like a commercialized ‘park’, but it never was. In fact, it is the humble effort of the authorities to beautify the place, but it also never was. Not in my humble perspective, at least. Apparently, it has been beautifully abandoned, just like my house’s perigi buta.
I wonder whether the local men in power would take this environmental issue seriously in order to reflect the goldenness of this town. Putting three giant spotlights around the town is not sufficient, taking into account the needs for the people to enjoy their sightseeing more. Looking at this signpost, I am not sure whether our Tok Guru wants to make a social statement or elicit any political agenda. Maybe both.  Yeah, we are glad and thank you for lighting up our town with those modern spotlights, not with the traditional cahaya bulan.Labels: cekmi's budu roots |
