Have you ever asked why one of Malaysia’s most visited states during festive seasons still lacks a direct, modern highway link from Kuala Lumpur and the West Coast? Long traffic jams, 12-plus hour drives, and viral social media posts of stranded balik kampung travellers have become almost yearly traditions. That frustration raises one question: why has Malaysia still not built a full expressway into Kelantan?
Kelantan sits on the northeast tip of Peninsular Malaysia, surrounded by dramatic mountain ranges and lush rainforest. Yet despite its cultural importance and significant population, it remains one of the few states without a seamless, high-speed highway connection to the rest of the country. During festivities like Hari Raya Aidilfitri, families from Kelantan to KL often face gridlock on single-carriageway roads like Federal Route 8 and the East–West Highway. Traffic sometimes slows to a crawl, adding hours to journeys that should be half as long.
Multiple attempts to expand Malaysia’s highway network into Kelantan have stalled, stalled again, and sometimes quietly vanished from national plans. The result is a complex mix of politics, geography, and infrastructure planning that leaves travellers asking: is it politics, terrain, or simply lost priorities that keeps Kelantan off the direct-highway map?
Geography and Engineering Challenges
One of the clearest reasons isn’t political at all, but natural. The terrain between Kelantan and central Malaysia is dominated by the Titiwangsa mountain range and dense forested areas. Building a modern controlled-access expressway through this terrain is inherently expensive and technically complicated. Projects like the Central Spine Road (CSR), also known as the Lingkaran Tengah Utama (LTU) Expressway, are designed to overcome these challenges by carving through highland areas to link Kelantan with central and southern states. This road alone is nearly 390 kilometers long and under construction in phases to eventually replace older two-lane roads like Federal Route 8. It is expected to be completed by around 2026. (Wikipedia)
Even with CSR in progress, the current design doesn’t yet provide a direct toll-standard expressway from KL to Kota Bharu or other major Kelantan towns. The route is being built gradually, section by section, and requires major earthworks, bridges, and environmental assessments. That takes time and money, both of which have been in short supply or diverted to other priorities.
Infrastructure Plans That Never Fully Materialised
Over the years, several highway projects that could have delivered a direct expressway to Kelantan were announced but failed to reach construction on the ground. One is the Lebuhraya Pantai Timur 3 (LPT3), a proposed continuation of the existing East Coast Expressway that currently connects Karak to Kuala Terengganu but stops short of Kelantan. The idea was that LPT3 would extend this highway into Kelantan making a continuous high-speed route. However, federal officials repeatedly stated that the project remained unfinalised or stuck in the planning and Request for Proposal (RFP) stages due to financing and concession concerns. (Astro Awani)
In late 2025, the deputy Works Minister confirmed LPT3 would proceed under a public-private partnership model without direct federal funds, but significant questions remain about timelines and viability. (Free Malaysia Today) Meanwhile, critics point out that despite the project being discussed for decades, it still does not appear in national budget allocations with clear timeline commitments, leaving many Kelantan representatives frustrated. (TRDI)
Another long-planned road, the Kota Bharu–Kuala Krai Expressway, was initially conceived as a federal project but was eventually taken up as a state initiative after federal withdrawal. It will be a controlled-access dual carriageway, but its completion will still not deliver a full interstate expressway link to the rest of the peninsula on its own. (Wikipedia)
Politics: Federal Priorities and Regional Imbalances
The question of political will is unavoidable. Infrastructure spending inevitably reflects national economic priorities and political bargaining. For some years, center-west and urban regions around Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and even the oil-rich east coast state of Terengganu received significant highway investments. Terengganu’s connection via the East Coast Expressway (LPT1 and LPT2) was prioritised earlier, leaving Kelantan reliant on older federal roads with comparatively slow travel.
Kelantan’s representatives in Parliament have repeatedly highlighted what they see as unequal treatment in national infrastructure funding. At budget debates for the 2026 financial year, an MP from Kelantan raised concerns that the extension of the East Coast Expressway into Kelantan was still unclear, even though it had been promised in previous planning cycles. (Bharian) Observers in political circles note that Kelantan’s unique political landscape often governed by different parties than the federal government may have also influenced funding decisions, though federal leaders reject any politically motivated bias. According to some federal officials, projects need to demonstrate financial viability, which in the case of toll highways translates into projected traffic volumes and profitability that makes private investment worthwhile.
In some cases, decisions appear driven by cost-benefit analyses and concession models rather than pure transport needs. The LPT3 project’s shift to a PPP model, for instance, reflects federal caution about pouring government funds into highways that might deliver uncertain financial returns. (Free Malaysia Today)
Economic Arguments and Social Impact
From an economic standpoint, better highways into Kelantan could unlock major potential. The state’s agricultural industries, tourism, and small-business sectors have long cited poor connectivity as a barrier to growth. Congestion during peak travel seasons also poses safety concerns and increases transport costs for goods and logistics firms.
Even existing national roads see regular heavy traffic and safety issues. The East–West Highway linking Gerik in Perak to Jeli in Kelantan is a key route, but it’s not a high-standard expressway and has been the site of multiple accidents. Efforts to upgrade parts of this road have been ongoing, including RM55 million allocated for safety improvements in 2025. (Motorist.my)
Despite safety upgrades, the more fundamental issue remains the lack of a high-capacity, direct highway. When festive seasons hit, alternative routes like the Gua Musang–Kuala Lipis road fill up quickly, leading police to warn of congestion. (Malay Mail)
Regional Voices: Local Leaders, Sultan, Citizens
Voices within Kelantan itself reveal deep desire for better connectivity. The Sultan of Kelantan has publicly called on the federal government to accelerate key road projects including CSR and the KBKK Highway, calling them essential for economic and social development. (Sinar Harian) Local politicians across the political spectrum also emphasise the need for faster progress, with some urging that projects like LPT3 be prioritised even if that means new funding models.
Public sentiment reflects both frustration and pragmatism. Many travellers on social media share stories of marathon journeys home sometimes more than 20 hours on the road, especially during major holidays prompting renewed calls each year for expressway upgrades and faster progress.
Comparisons with Other Regions
Looking regionally, Malaysia has successfully delivered high-capacity expressways to other states with similar terrain challenges. The East Coast Expressway through Terengganu and Pahang navigates hills and rivers but was completed and later extended. In Sabah and Sarawak, the massive Pan Borneo Highway aims to boost connectivity across the two Malaysian Borneo states, demonstrating that ambitious infrastructure can be realised with political alignment and funding commitment.
Kelantan’s case differs mainly because of fragmented project delivery and evolving priorities over time. While parts of CSR and the KBKK Highway are under construction, there’s no single project yet delivering fast, continuous travel from KL to Kota Bharu without long sections of slower federal road.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments section.
So why does Malaysia still not have a direct highway to Kelantan? The answer is layered. Mountainous geography and engineering costs make such infrastructure inherently expensive and slow to build. National planning has repeatedly reshuffled priorities, with some highway proposals stuck in planning stages because of financing models and concession concerns. Politics both in terms of funding allocation and governance alignment has shaped how and when projects move forward.
Yet there are reasons for cautious optimism. The Central Spine Road/LTU project is nearing completion in sections and promises improved north-south travel. Public-private partnership models for LPT3 may finally bring the East Coast Expressway into Kelantan’s future highway network. Budget commitments under the 13th Malaysia Plan include road upgrades and rural connectivity expansion that will benefit Pantai Timur more broadly. (The Edge Malaysia)
For Kelantan and its travellers, it is not a question of if but when a direct highway truly links the state to the nation’s transport backbone. The progress so far shows that technical and planning challenges can be overcome with consistent funding and political cooperation. The real test will be whether federal and state leaders can translate plans into concrete timelines and construction milestones that deliver real change for everyday Malaysians.
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