Kelantan is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is Darul Naim. Kelantan is the only state outside of East Malaysia that does not use the term district in its second-level administrative division. Instead, the districts is named as colonies or collectivities and one autonomous subdistrict.

Narathiwat is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan and Perak. The southern railway line ends in this province, which is one of the nation's four provinces that border Malaysia. The province features a range of cultures as well as natural resources, and is relatively fertile. Narathiwat is about 1,140 kilometers south of Bangkok and has an area of 4,475 km2 (1,728 sq mi). Seventy-five percent of the area is jungle and mountains and has a tropical climate.