Legend of the Pasir Mas beauty
NST 31 Oct 2006
Syed Umar Ariff
PASIR MAS: Whenever Noor Awatif Noor Mohammed takes a stroll with her friends in the bustling town of Pasir Mas, heads turn.
"Even when I’m dining out with my family, people would glance at me and my sisters. Some of us have got used to it but I haven’t," said the 20-year-old.
Although Noor Awatif is uncomfortable with the attention she gets in public, the fair, sharp-featured lass has had her share of the limelight.
"I did part-time modelling for a few Malay fashion magazines when I was younger. But I’m just a regular girl," said the youngest of seven siblings.
Noor Awatif is a specimen of the much-talked about Pasir Mas siren — a local legend among Malays that the most beautiful women in Peninsular Malaysia are found in the Pasir Mas district.
Tales of fair-skinned women with sweet demeanours and sultry physiques populating the district have become one of the spicy anecdotes that outsiders talk about.
Johorian Razak Romzi, 36, has never been to Pasir Mas or even set foot on Kelantan. "But I’ve heard from a lot of acquaintances who have been to Kelantan talking about Pasir Mas women as being the most beautiful.
"Maybe the stories were a tad exaggerated but they have made me curious. I have never heard such stories about the women of Ipoh, Kuching, Kuantan or any other part of the country," said the technician who is based in Batu Pahat.
Another example is Noor Awatif’s sister, bridal shop owner Noor Suriyati, 35, who modelled for local pop group KRU’s music videos in 1994.
The bubbly mother of three offered her take on the legend, saying the good looks were mostly due to the mixing of Afghan and Pakistani blood with that of the locals in Pasir Mas.
Her family is a descendant of one of the 25 Pakistani and Afghan families who came to Pasir Mas as traders, in the 19th and the early 20th century.
"My forefathers arrived in Pasir Mas around 1917 and later decided to settle down here. However, we did not intermingle with other communities such as the Malays or the Chinese," said Noor Awatif’s father Nor Mohammed Din, 63, a textile trader.
According to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academic Associate Professor Dr Mohd Agus Yusof, Pasir Mas was a business hub in the 1800’s due to its proximity to the then independent Pattani sultanate.
"Pashtun traders (from present-day Afghanistan), most of whom were textile merchants, came to Pasir Mas to set up their businesses and they subsequently settled down and married locals," said Agus.
The Afghans sailed to Pattani, then a bustling entrepot, before heading to Pasir Mas by land.
Foreign traders continued flocking to Pasir Mas until the Bangkok Treaty was inked between Britain and the Siamese Kingdom in 1909.
Agus also agreed that Pasir Mas beauties were exceptional. "Oh, of course! You’ll never hear such tales of beauty in other states. They are particularly famous for their Tok Seh (middle eastern) looks and fair skin."
Another Pasir Mas local Bibi Hawa Yusof said some of her friends in Kuala Lumpur had even asked her to find Pasir Mas women for their sons.
"It is because they have heard how beautiful the Pasir Mas women are. But for me, most of the stories were probably exaggerated," said the 58-year-old, who herself has aged gracefully.
The grandmother of 20, who is also of Pakistani descent, said it was not just the offspring of mixed parents who were eye-catching.
"I have met local Malay women, who possessed astonishing beauty and are not of mixed parentage. Beautiful, flawless, fair maidens," said Bibi Hawa.
But how did such tales of beauty become famous nationwide?
Pengkalan Pasir state assemblyman Hanafi Mamat offered an explanation.
Hanafi said in the early 1900’s, most of the women were married to their "equally good-looking" and well-to-do cousins, hence producing a lineage of beau monde or "beautiful people".
Later in the 1950’s, many of the beautiful descendants were married off to policemen or soldiers who were posted to the district since a government career was considered prosperous at the time.
"In the hopes that their children would lead a better life, many fathers at that time would offer their most beautiful daughters to these men, who were also well-respected in the community," he said.
"When these men were again posted to some other states, they would tell similar tales to their counterparts and popularise Pasir Mas women as rare beauties," said Hanafi, a Pasir Mas local.
And this cycle of marriage for social mobility continued until the education revolution in the 1980’s, when teachers, engineers and other professionals became choice sons-in- law.
"The professionals were also given the option to choose the most beautiful women as their wife. They later got married and moved to Kuala Lumpur or to other states.
"And their wives’ beauty would be the talk of the village or town," said Hanafi, adding that he too had met outsiders who came to know about Pasir Mas women during his days in university.
"It was my first day in class during the induction week and people knew I was from Kelantan. Some immediately told me that they had heard about the Pasir Mas beauties.
NST 31 Oct 2006
Syed Umar Ariff
PASIR MAS: Whenever Noor Awatif Noor Mohammed takes a stroll with her friends in the bustling town of Pasir Mas, heads turn.
"Even when I’m dining out with my family, people would glance at me and my sisters. Some of us have got used to it but I haven’t," said the 20-year-old.
Although Noor Awatif is uncomfortable with the attention she gets in public, the fair, sharp-featured lass has had her share of the limelight.
"I did part-time modelling for a few Malay fashion magazines when I was younger. But I’m just a regular girl," said the youngest of seven siblings.
Noor Awatif is a specimen of the much-talked about Pasir Mas siren — a local legend among Malays that the most beautiful women in Peninsular Malaysia are found in the Pasir Mas district.
Tales of fair-skinned women with sweet demeanours and sultry physiques populating the district have become one of the spicy anecdotes that outsiders talk about.
Johorian Razak Romzi, 36, has never been to Pasir Mas or even set foot on Kelantan. "But I’ve heard from a lot of acquaintances who have been to Kelantan talking about Pasir Mas women as being the most beautiful.
"Maybe the stories were a tad exaggerated but they have made me curious. I have never heard such stories about the women of Ipoh, Kuching, Kuantan or any other part of the country," said the technician who is based in Batu Pahat.
Another example is Noor Awatif’s sister, bridal shop owner Noor Suriyati, 35, who modelled for local pop group KRU’s music videos in 1994.
The bubbly mother of three offered her take on the legend, saying the good looks were mostly due to the mixing of Afghan and Pakistani blood with that of the locals in Pasir Mas.
Her family is a descendant of one of the 25 Pakistani and Afghan families who came to Pasir Mas as traders, in the 19th and the early 20th century.
"My forefathers arrived in Pasir Mas around 1917 and later decided to settle down here. However, we did not intermingle with other communities such as the Malays or the Chinese," said Noor Awatif’s father Nor Mohammed Din, 63, a textile trader.
According to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academic Associate Professor Dr Mohd Agus Yusof, Pasir Mas was a business hub in the 1800’s due to its proximity to the then independent Pattani sultanate.
"Pashtun traders (from present-day Afghanistan), most of whom were textile merchants, came to Pasir Mas to set up their businesses and they subsequently settled down and married locals," said Agus.
The Afghans sailed to Pattani, then a bustling entrepot, before heading to Pasir Mas by land.
Foreign traders continued flocking to Pasir Mas until the Bangkok Treaty was inked between Britain and the Siamese Kingdom in 1909.
Agus also agreed that Pasir Mas beauties were exceptional. "Oh, of course! You’ll never hear such tales of beauty in other states. They are particularly famous for their Tok Seh (middle eastern) looks and fair skin."
Another Pasir Mas local Bibi Hawa Yusof said some of her friends in Kuala Lumpur had even asked her to find Pasir Mas women for their sons.
"It is because they have heard how beautiful the Pasir Mas women are. But for me, most of the stories were probably exaggerated," said the 58-year-old, who herself has aged gracefully.
The grandmother of 20, who is also of Pakistani descent, said it was not just the offspring of mixed parents who were eye-catching.
"I have met local Malay women, who possessed astonishing beauty and are not of mixed parentage. Beautiful, flawless, fair maidens," said Bibi Hawa.
But how did such tales of beauty become famous nationwide?
Pengkalan Pasir state assemblyman Hanafi Mamat offered an explanation.
Hanafi said in the early 1900’s, most of the women were married to their "equally good-looking" and well-to-do cousins, hence producing a lineage of beau monde or "beautiful people".
Later in the 1950’s, many of the beautiful descendants were married off to policemen or soldiers who were posted to the district since a government career was considered prosperous at the time.
"In the hopes that their children would lead a better life, many fathers at that time would offer their most beautiful daughters to these men, who were also well-respected in the community," he said.
"When these men were again posted to some other states, they would tell similar tales to their counterparts and popularise Pasir Mas women as rare beauties," said Hanafi, a Pasir Mas local.
And this cycle of marriage for social mobility continued until the education revolution in the 1980’s, when teachers, engineers and other professionals became choice sons-in- law.
"The professionals were also given the option to choose the most beautiful women as their wife. They later got married and moved to Kuala Lumpur or to other states.
"And their wives’ beauty would be the talk of the village or town," said Hanafi, adding that he too had met outsiders who came to know about Pasir Mas women during his days in university.
"It was my first day in class during the induction week and people knew I was from Kelantan. Some immediately told me that they had heard about the Pasir Mas beauties.
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