Besut District | |
|---|---|
| Daerah Besut | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Interactive map of Besut District | |
  Besut District Location ofBesut District inMalaysia | |
| Coordinates:5°35′N102°30′E / 5.583°N 102.500°E /5.583; 102.500 | |
| Country |  Malaysia |
| State |  Terengganu |
| Seat | Kampung Raja |
| Local area government(s) | Besut District Council |
| Government | |
| • District officer | Haji Rozali bin Salleh[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,233.68 km2 (476.33 sq mi) |
| Population (2010)[3] | |
• Total | 140,952 |
• Estimate (2020)[4] | 175,800 |
| • Density | 114.253/km2 (295.915/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+8 (Not observed) |
| Postcode | 22xxx |
| Calling code | +6-09-6 |
| Vehicle registration plates | T D |
Besut (Terengganuan andKelantanese:Besuk) is aKelantanese communitydistrict in theTerengganufederal state ofMalaysia. It is bordered by the state ofKelantan to the north and west and theSouth China Sea to the east. It is the northern gateway to Terengganu.Kampung Raja is the district capital, thoughJerteh is more developed. Another major town is the fishing port ofKuala Besut. There are other small towns and villages such as Jabi, Apal, Pasir Akar and Tembila. Besut is between Jerteh and Kuala Terengganu.
There is a lack of written evidence on this district. The records byMunshi Abdullah in his book,Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah ke Kelantan, andTuhfat al-Nafis byRaja Ali Haji touched a bit on Besut. Due to this, there are many stories that tell the matters regarding the origin of Besut.[5] There is a legend that recounts the tale of how Besut got its name.[6] According to this story, when the region was under Siamese rule, the district was named "Besut" which originated from the Siamese word "Be" meaning "district" and "sut" which means "a distant area" or "at the end." This story could be plausible since Besut is located quite far from Bangkok.[6]
Besut was originally a land belonging to theKelantan-Patani Sultanate. This can be proven through the reign of Raja Sakti I of Kelantan who united Patani under his administrative influence when theRatu Kuning of Patani had died and had no heirs while Terengganu was under the protection of Kelantan-Patani. Kelantan's control over Besut only lasted 161 years when the Patani Sultanate was attacked by Siam in 1780 which caused Kelantan to split into two blocks namely East Kelantan and West Kelantan while Terengganu fled and took refuge with theSultanate of Johore.
Besut District is divided into 16mukims, which are:[7]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 107,900 | — |
| 2000 | 120,199 | +11.4% |
| 2010 | 136,563 | +13.6% |
| 2020 | 154,168 | +12.9% |
| Source:[8] | ||
As of 2010, there are approximately 140,952 people in Besut District, of various ethnicities, with the Malays being the majority. Other ethnic groups includeChinese andSiamese.[3][9] Most Malays in Besut identify themselves with Kelantanese identity rather than the Terengganuan identity. One of the prominent examples is that they tend to speakKelantanese Malay instead ofTerengganu Malay like in most parts of Terengganu.[10] Meanwhile, the dominant minority ethnic Chinese population are more concentrated near Jerteh town.
Besut has education institutions which are developed by both the central and Terengganu state governments such as,Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Institute of Teacher's Education Sultan Mizan Campus, MARA Junior Science College (Kota Putra & Besut campuses), Kolej Komuniti Besut, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Mahmud, Sekolah Menengah Agama Maarif, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Nurul Ittifaq, Madrasah Moden MAIDAM Besut and Sekolah Menengah IMTIAZ, Sekolah Menengah Agama Ittifakiah, among others. Hence, Besut is known as one of the best educational hub towns in Malaysia.
There are a number of travel destinations that are located here, many of them islands or beaches. The most popular of all tourist sites in Besut arePerhentian Islands, one of the top island destinations in the world according to theCNN.[11] Perhentian Islands lie about 10.8 nautical miles (20 km) to the north east of Kuala Besut and are made up of islands such as Perhentian Besar, Perhentian Kecil, and Susu Dara. The islands are well known for their tropical reefs, scuba diving, and snorkeling.[12]
Besides Perhentian Islands, beaches are also among the top local places to visit. The beaches here are Air Tawar, Dendong, and Bukit Keluang beach. In the interior parts of the district, visitors can experience thetropical forest in areas such as Lata Tembakah and Lata Belatan, or climb the 1039m-high Gunung Tebu (Mount Tebu). Tourists can also enjoy bathing in the naturalhot springs of Kolam Air Panas La or La Hot Springs. The water here containssulphur and can reach 49 °C.[13]
List of Besut district representatives in the Federal Parliament (Dewan Rakyat)
| Parliament | Seat Name | Member of Parliament | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| P33 | Besut | Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh | PN (PAS) |
| P34 | Setiu | Shaharizukarnain Abd. Kadir | PN (PAS) |
List of Besut district representatives in the State Legislative Assembly ofTerengganu
| Parliament | State | Seat Name | State Assemblyman | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P33 | N1 | Kuala Besut | Azbi Salleh | PN (PAS) |
| P33 | N2 | Kota Putera | Mohd. Nurkhuzaini Ab. Rahman | PN (PAS) |
| P33 | N3 | Jertih | Riduan Mohamad Nor | PN (PAS) |
| P33 | N4 | Hulu Besut | Mohd Husaimi Hussin | PN (BERSATU) |
| P34 | N5 | Jabi | Azman Ibrahim | PN (PAS) |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| International | |
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