Kelantan's 'Mini Dhaka' raises concerns over foreign business dominance, overcrowding
KOTA BARU: An area in Kelantan, often dubbed "Mini Dhaka" by locals due to its high concentration of Bangladeshi and Pakistani migrant workers, has come under scrutiny amid growing concerns over overcrowding and the proliferation of foreign-run businesses.
The term, initially used to describe a cluster of densely populated rental homes, is now increasingly associated with parts of Jalan Dato' Pati and Jalan Doktor, where foreign nationals are said to be taking over local business premises.
According to local sources, many of these foreign entrepreneurs, primarily from Bangladesh and Pakistan, began opening grocery shops and restaurants after marrying local women and settling in the state.
The trend, they said, picked up pace after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
"These areas are slowly transforming into a foreign commercial hub. They've opened shops, eateries and mini markets. On weekdays, it's relatively quiet, but come weekends, especially on Fridays, the place is packed," said a trader operating nearby.
He added that most of the customers are fellow foreign workers, many of whom are employed as general labourers or plantation workers across Kelantan.
"There's a noticeable shift. Local businesses are being edged out, and the clientele is mostly made up of foreign nationals," the trader said.
Long-time residents and local business operators have voiced concerns over the impact on local commerce and social balance.
Meanwhile, a spokesman from the local municipal council said the authorities are aware of the issue and are working with enforcement agencies to ensure proper documentation, business licensing and compliance with health regulations.
He said regular inspections are being planned to monitor business operations in the affected areas.
"The municipal council and relevant enforcement agencies are aware of public concerns, and action will be taken where necessary.
"It is important to ensure business regulations are adhered to and that the community remains balanced and secure," he added.
In January last year, four children were among nearly 300 undocumented foreigners detained during a special operation codenamed "Ops Kutip" in the town area.
The operation, conducted in what is now referred to as Kelantan's "Mini Dhaka", was a joint effort involving the Immigration Department, police, and the Kota Baru Municipal Council.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sinar Daily
4 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
Australian murder suspect says lethal lunch may have contained 'foraged' mushrooms
Erin Patterson is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in 2023 by spiking their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. 04 Jun 2025 01:41pm Simon Patterson leaves Latrobe Valley Magistrates' Court where Erin Patterson attended her trial in Morwell on May 2, 2025. - (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP) SYDNEY - An Australian woman accused of murdering three people by lacing their lunch with toxic mushrooms told a court on Wednesday she may have unwittingly used "foraged" fungi in the dish. Erin Patterson is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in 2023 by spiking their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest -- her husband's uncle -- who survived after a long stay in hospital. Patterson maintains the lunch was poisoned by accident, pleading not guilty to all charges in a case that continues to grip Australia. The 50-year-old choked up with emotion as she gave her account of the meal on Wednesday. She said she decided to improve the beef-and-pastry dish with dried mushrooms after deciding it tasted a "little bland". While she initially believed a kitchen container held store-bought mushrooms, she said it may have been mixed with foraged fungi. "I decided to put in the dried mushrooms I brought from the grocer," she told the court. "Now I think that there was a possibility that there were foraged ones in there as well." A handout sketch received from the Supreme Court of Victoria on April 29, 2025 shows Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three people with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington, as she faces trial in a case that has grabbed global attention. - (Photo by Paul Tyquin / SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA / AFP) Patterson earlier told the court how she had started foraging for mushrooms during a Covid lockdown in 2020. She also told the court on Wednesday that she had misled her guests about the purpose of the family meal. While they ate, Patterson revealed she might be receiving treatment for cancer in the coming weeks. But this was a lie, Patterson said. - 'Shouldn't have lied' - "I was planning to have gastric bypass surgery, so I remember thinking I didn't want to tell anybody what I was going to have done. "I was really embarrassed about it. "So letting them believe I had some serious issue that needed treatment might mean they could help me with the logistics around the kids," she told the court. "I shouldn't have lied to them," she added. The prosecution alleges Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests and took care that she did not consume the deadly mushrooms herself. Her defence says Patterson ate the same meal as the others but did not fall as sick. Patterson asked her estranged husband Simon to the family lunch at her secluded rural Victoria home in July 2023. Simon turned down the invitation because he felt too uncomfortable, the court has heard previously. The pair were long estranged but still legally married. Simon's parents Don and Gail were happy to attend, dying days after eating the home-cooked meal. Simon's aunt Heather Wilkinson also died, while her husband Ian fell seriously ill but later recovered. The trial is expected to last another week. - AFP More Like This
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
85 foreign GROs arrested in Kuantan
KUANTAN: The Pahang Immigration Department detained 85 foreign women suspected of working as guest relations officers (GROs) during a raid on six entertainment outlets along Jalan Gambut here early this morning. Its director Nursafariza Ihsan said 14 foreign men working as waiters at the premises were also detained during the operation, which began at about 1am. She said the women comprised 81 Thai nationals and four from Laos. Also detained were 12 Bangladeshi men, along with one man each from Yemen and China. "They committed various offences, with most of them found to have abused their work permits. Many held permits for the construction and cleaning sectors. "However, they were working as GROs and waiters at the entertainment outlets," she said when met today. Nursafariza added that the Immigration Department would summon the six business owners to assist in investigations. She said all six outlets had previously been raided and action taken, but continued to flout the law. "A large number of foreigners were arrested, even though inspections are regularly carried out at these entertainment centres. "It appears the operators are not afraid of the consequences," she said. All those detained have been taken to the Kemayan Immigration Detention Depot in Bera. They are being investigated under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 and Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
'This is a culture': TikTok murder highlights Pakistan's unease with women online
ISLAMABAD (AFP): Since seeing thousands of comments justifying the recent murder of a teenage TikTok star in Pakistan, Sunaina Bukhari is considering abandoning her 88,000 followers. "In my family, it wasn't an accepted profession at all, but I'd managed to convince them, and even ended up setting up my own business," she said. Then last week, Sana Yousaf was shot dead outside her house in the capital Islamabad by a man whose advances she had repeatedly rejected, police said. News of the murder led to an outpouring of comments under her final post -- her 17th birthday celebration where she blew out the candles on a cake. In between condolence messages, some blamed her for her own death: "You reap what you sow" or "it's deserved, she was tarnishing Islam". Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media, where she shared her favourite cafes, skincare products and traditional shalwar kameez outfits. TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels. On it, women have found both audience and income, rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy. But as TikTok's views have surged, so have efforts to police the platform. Pakistani telecommunications authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what it calls "immoral behaviour", amid backlash against LGBTQ and sexual content. TikTok has pledged to better moderate content and blocked millions of videos that do not meet its community guidelines as well as at the request of Pakistan authorities. After Yousaf's murder, Bukhari, 28, said her family no longer backs her involvement in the industry. "I'm the first influencer in my family, and maybe the last," she told AFP. - 'Fear of being judged' - Only 30 percent of women in Pakistan own a smartphone compared to twice as many men (58 percent), the largest gap in the world, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2025. "Friends and family often discourage them from using social media for fear of being judged," said a statement from the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF). In southwestern Balochistan, where tribal law governs many rural areas, a man confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter earlier this year over TikTok videos that he said compromised her honour. In October, police in Karachi, in the south, announced the arrest of a man who had killed four women relatives over "indecent" TikTok videos. These murders each revive memories of Qandeel Baloch, dubbed Pakistan's Kim Kardashian and one of the country's first breakout social media stars whose videos shot her to fame. After years in the spotlight, she was suffocated by her brother. Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country's Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting men are not uncommon. "This isn't one crazy man, this is a culture," said Kanwal Ahmed, who leads a closed Facebook group of 300,000 women to share advice. "Every woman in Pakistan knows this fear. Whether she's on TikTok or has a private Instagram with 50 followers, men show up. In her DMs. In her comments. On her street," she wrote in a post. In the fifth-most-populous country in the world, where 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30, the director of digital rights organisation Bolo Bhi, Usama Khilji, says "many women don't post their profile picture, but a flower, an object, very rarely their face". "The misogyny and the patriarchy that is prevalent in this society is reflected on the online spaces," he added. A 22-year-old man was arrested over Yousaf's murder and is due to appear in court next week. At a vigil in the capital last week, around 80 men and women gathered, holding placards that read "no means no". "Social media has given us a voice, but the opposing voices are louder," said Hira, a young woman who joined the gathering. The capital's police chief, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, used a press conference to send a "clear message" to the public. "If our sisters or daughters want to become influencers, professionally or as amateurs, we must encourage them," he said. - AFP
