By Liau Y-Sing
The federal government has promised millions of dollars of investment in a bid to win the state back from an Islamist party that has ruled the rural backwater for 18 years.
"Islamic rule is very generous," said Mrs Tan, a tiny 50-year old ethnic Chinese, as she peered over her half-moon glasses while poring over newspapers in her modest auto spare parts store.
The vote is a test of whether a moderate, secular Muslim government can defeat a hardline Islamist party with promises of economic progress.
The sole state under opposition rule, Kelantan, is the only real contest for power in the elections which are widely expected to return Abdullah's coalition to power, although with a reduced majority.
In 2004, a tenth of its people lived in poverty, the third highest rate among Malaysian states, official figures show.
The blueprint -- the first large scale development involving the country's east coast -- pitches a vision of Kelantan as a booming farming centre with thriving goat, fish and kenaf farms.
But for many the "purist" appeal of the PAS remains the biggest draw.
"As far as they are concerned, what is important is not material things, but the spiritual. PAS, of course, appeals to this kind of religious conservatism."
Historically part of the Thai kingdom of Patani and the ancient seat of Islamic civilisation, Kelantan has an appearance of piety and austerity.
Gambling joints, cinemas and nightclubs are not allowed in the state and alcohol can only be sold to non-Muslims.
Central to PAS's appeal is its 77-year old spiritual leader, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who is also chief minister of Kelantan.
This is in stark contrast to what many locals see as the opulent lifestyles of the ruling coalition's leaders.
"They should not use the approach that is seen from outside."
"What we're doing now is trying to narrow the gap between PAS and the non-Malay, non-Muslim community," said PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa. "We're going to defend the culture of all minority groups, the language, the schools."
"It doesn't matter who wins," he said over a simple meal of fish and rice in a cramped corner of his shop. "No one will help us, we just have to make our own living."
