The town in the east coast of Malaysian Peninsular varies greatly form those of the south, Kuala Terengganu, Kota Bharu, Chertineg and Mersing, the towns we visited, are much more relaxed and laid back. The population is predominantly Malay with few Chinese and Indian in the town centers. And these towns receive foreign tourists compared to the west cast.
Mosques (religion) plays a greater role in the east cost, where as in the east coast you would need to look hard to find a mosque, the east coast is dotted with mosques. The 4am prayer call is something we could not get used to!
There was not limit to choice of food in the east coast and the beaches were popular with the locals but cleaning up the rubbish afterward was not. But the city centres (where the littering meant a 500 Ringgit fine) were very clean and tidy.