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On my way to Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, in 1977 to inspect a few construction projects, I saw a Datsun SSS speeding past our JKR (Public Works Department) Land Rover. The car was incredibly fast, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. I turned to my driver and asked, “Why is that car so fast?”
Without hesitation, he replied, “That’s a Project Car.”
Back then, we still used the British-made Land Rover, a four-wheel-drive vehicle, for our site inspections as JKR engineers. I was unfamiliar with cars at the time — I didn’t even own one. I used to borrow my mother’s old Datsun 1200. Curious, I kept pressing my driver, “What do you mean by Project Car?”
He explained, “It’s a smuggler’s car, used for smuggling along the Kelantan-Thailand border.”
I was intrigued. “Why do smugglers use the Datsun SSS?”
“The Datsun SSS 1600cc is a robust, high-performance car,” he said. “It’s modified for extra power and durability. Smugglers need a car that can outpace and outmaneuver police vehicles in case they’re spotted or chased. More often than not, they manage to escape.”
It was then that I realized: smuggling, albeit illegal, operates like a business project. There is supply, demand, risk management, and logistics involved. In Kelantan, rice was the most commonly smuggled item because it was cheaper in Thailand, and Kelantanese people preferred Thai rice.
