When I got onto a public bus at the Kota Bharu bus station recently, I did something immoral – I did not pay the bus fare.

Ha hah!

Excuse me, I was not a psychopath who looked for a mischievous way for a free ride, but there was no driver or a bus conductor on the bus asking for the fare. So I just took a seat and was then happy to see that the other passengers who came after me seemed not to be bothered about their bus tickets as well. Oh, someone might probably come later and ask for the ticket, so I thought.

When the bus driver finally came, he just got into his seat and sped off without even asking for the tickets from me or the other indifferent passengers. There was no bus conductor as well. What was happening? Should I just run to the bus driver and pay? Was there a hidden machine to pay for the fare? Did I miss something here? I dared not ask the passengers because I did not want to sound like a foolish Kelantanese who did not even know how to pay a bus fare in his own beloved state. As I was riding the bus, I was worried the whole time, wondering if I had committed a serious crime, if I had breached a newly-upgraded payment system in Kelantan, or whether I would be sent to a jail sooner for not paying a bus fare and for being an irresponsible and ignorant citizen of Malaysia.

When the bus reached the Pasir Mas bus station, I rushed to the bus driver.

“How much?” I asked him worriedly.
“Oh, where from?”
“Kota Bharu.”
“Tigo amah (RM1.50).”

I gave him the money and, surprisingly, he seemed unconcerned. When I reached home, I narrated the whole details to my little sister.

“How come the bus driver didn’t ask for the bus fare?” I whined angrily. “What kind of system is this? In Singapore, you would never get on the bus if you don’t pay the fare first. You’ll be caught if you don’t, I suppose. And Singaporean public transport, like MRT, is so first-class. I don’t understand Kelantan. So inefficient, so third world!”

My sister seemed oblivious with my wicked comments, and she looked so undisturbed, just like the bus driver. She gave me that strange smile and said: “Well, who needs a Singaporean system in Kelantan? The bus drivers here should have known all his passengers personally. And the passengers also should have known their responsibilities when riding on a bus. Everybody knows each other here, Cekmi. There is trust and love on the air. So, there is no need to trace for those who pay or do not pay the bus fare. This is an Islamic state. There is nothing to worry about. This is how it works here. This is Kelantan, not Singapore.”

My little sister might have a point.