Preserve and memorialise May 13 burial grounds, govt told

 

The small burial site, located on the hill behind Sungai Buloh Hospital, has 114 tombstones.

PETALING JAYA: A prominent academic has urged the government to preserve and memorialise a burial ground in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, containing the remains of victims of the racial riots of May 13, 1969.

Sharifah Munirah Alatas, the deputy chair of the Malaysian Academic Movement, Gerak deemed preserving the site as a national responsibility as well as a gesture of compassion for the victims of the riots.

“Whether we lived during the riots or were born decades later, it is our moral duty as citizens to come to terms with our past, to know our history, and to actively work towards closure,” she told FMT.

Malaysians, especially the government, must show respect for the dead as well as compassion for the survivors who continue to mourn them, she said. Neglecting to preserve the site would reflect a reluctance to confront the past and an attempt to bury it so that it goes away.

“The government should take the lead by actively facilitating a process of closure for the survivors. Memorialising the burial site is crucial for the nation to heal,” she said.

The small burial site, located on the hill behind Sungai Buloh Hospital, contains 114 tombstones, buried courtesy of the government, and is situated beyond the furthest boundary of what used to be the Sungai Buloh leprosarium.

Until 2017, the site remained largely neglected and unknown until reports emerged of impending development plans for the area. Today, many are still unaware of the historical significance of this small graveyard.

Among the gravestones include those marked as “unidentified Chinese”, with the gender of the deceased not indicated.

However, Por Heong Hong, co-author of a book of oral histories of May 13 cautioned against preservation efforts without a clear understanding of what exactly the authorities aimed to preserve.

She warned against preserving a one-sided version of history, particularly the narrative propagated by the state, as it leaves out other perspectives, such as those of the survivors.

“Dialogue is far more important than preservation. The burial site consists only of stones. It’s more crucial how we interpret the site and what kind of future we aim to create,” she told FMT.

Commemorating May 13

Citing Por’s book “Life After: Oral Histories of the May 13 Incident”, which documents the experiences of survivors, Sharifah Munirah said most survivors of the May 13 tragedy yearn to tell their stories, yet many have remained silent due to the taboo surrounding the incident.

She said the experiences of survivors proved that racial riots were politically induced rather than stemming from deep-seated racism or feelings of ethno-centric superiority.

Stories of the survivors showed that “they also tried to save each other because they saw each other as human beings and Malaysians first,” she said.

“Deep down, the majority felt the riots were the result of politics gone wrong,” she said.

Por said Malaysians must acknowledge the reality of racial politics in the country, as political forces attempt to pigeonhole Malaysians into specific racial groups.

“We must realise that ethnic identity is only one part of ourselves because every individual is a human, and we need to be viewed as human above anything else,” she said.

Tham Seen Hau, whose mother lost five family members in the riots, believes Malaysians need to remember to practise empathy and mindfulness towards one another, regardless of race or religion.

“It’s a beautiful thing that we are so diverse. We need to treasure diversity by being more inclusive, mindful, and have more empathy towards other people,” Tham said. - FMT