Relocating graves: ‘Don’t make it racial’

Other races should also protest against the relocation as their cemeteries would also have to make way for a petrochemical project in Pengerang.

KUALA LUMPUR: Those against the relocation of the eight Chinese cemeteries in Pengerang, Johor, should invite other races to join them.

There are a total of eight Chinese and 11 Malay cemeteries in Pengerang, and most of them will be acquired to make way for the RM60-billion Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project.

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall CEO Tang Ah Chai said the Pengerang groups should avoid treating it as a racial problem.

“We should avoid twisting it into a racial issue. We should consolidate support from other races. This is a cultural issue,” he said.

Tang was speaking at a press conference after a dialogue session with nine representatives from Pengerang, who were here today to seek help. They also met the Kuala Lumpur Kwangtung Cemetery committee members, who faced a similar relocation issue in the 1990s.

Tang said the Pengerang groups should engage a lawyer and make collective decisions.

Pengerang Chinese cemetery joint association pro tem secretary, Chong Chun Yet, said the district land office in a meeting last month wanted to seal off the cemeteries in September.

“The land office published a statement in newspapers saying that the cemeteries will be sealed off soon and it caused uproar in the community.

“We have yet to see any action but I doubt if they have shelved their plan,” he said.

Sungai Rengit Hokkien and Teochew cemetery committee member, Sim Seng San, said they are against any plan to seal off or relocate the burial ground.

“We are not going to negotiate any terms with the authorities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kwang Tung cemetery vice-treasurer, Lee Chun Kong, said developments are taking place around cemeteries in Malaysia, and hence the burial ground should be preserved for their historical values.

“If you want know about the early development of Kuala Lumpur, you must come to the Kwang Tung cemetery,” he said, referring to the burial ground that has Yap Ah Loy’s grave.

“Some cemeteries in Pengerang also house graves dating back to the late Qing Dynasty period,” he added.

Lee said it is important for the Pengerang groups to garner public support by providing information on the issue.

“Only by having public support can we pressure the government to meet our demands,” he said.