By Farah Wahida:
Following complaints of a Muslim rights group on the removal of tombstones in a cemetery in Ayer Itam, the Penang state government warned developers to strictly follow rules when building projects near Islamic endowment (wakaf) land, mosques and cemeteries.
“We take this matter seriously due to the sensitivity, so developers and contractors must follow the law and if possible, allow a buffer zone if their projects are adjoining a cemetery, mosque or wakaf land,” noted Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, Chairman of the state religious affairs committee.
Abdul Malik added that those who will infringe on these Muslim plots may incur penalties. For instance, the government may issue a “stop work order for any projects found flouting the law and had encroached onto wakaf land.”
In the case of the Ayer Itam cemetery, Abdul Malik said the contractor has not encroached on the Kampung Boundary Muslim cemetery.
“Preliminary investigations by MAIPP, JAIPP and MPPP have revealed that the contractor was merely constructing a wall where the original fencing was and did not encroach onto the cemetery land.”
Contrary to complaints, the investigations found that the developer has not dug up graves or remove any tombstones.
“The contractor did not remove any tombstones at all and the stacks of tombstones near the fencing was removed and placed there many years ago, usually by relatives when new graves were dug,” he explained.
Rather, some of the tombstones may have been accidentally removed due to soil erosion.
Farah Wahida, Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email farahwahida@propertyguru.com.my
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