MPS: We did not approve land clearing

Ng (right) and Chee (left) with MPS officers inspecting the plan where the cemetery is located.

LAND clearing activities at a land next to a cemetery where the victims of the May 13 riots are buried in Sungai Buloh is illegal.

The Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) confirmed that the forest next to the cemetery was cleared and the land levelled without permission.

A stop-work order was issued for the activity on March 3 but the council could not identify the culprits as they had fled the scene.

The council also stressed that it did not receive any application for development on the site.

MPS officers from the planning and engineering departments visited the cemetery on Thursday following an appeal from residents and non-governmental organisations to preserve the cemetery for its historical significance.

Also present during the site visit were MPS councillor Ng Wei Keong, Gombak district village liaison officer Chee Chu Sang, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall chief executive officer Tang Ah Chai and several Sungai Buloh residents.

The land clearing carried out earlier this month, believed to be for a carpark, raised concerns that the cemetery might be affected.

The appeal was highlighted in StarMetro on Thursday.

The cemetery, which is about the size of two badminton courts, consists of 112 headstones.

It is rundown, with its peripheral fence damaged and headstones covered in undergrowth.

Back then, it was located within the former Leprosy Settlement.

Today, it is nestled behind the Sungai Buloh Hospital mosque and is a stone’s throw away from Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Sungai Buloh campus.

Ng said it was beyond the council’s jurisdiction to preserve the cemetery as heritage, adding that the National Heritage Department would need to initiate the effort.

“The council is ready to cooperate if the cemetery is gazetted as heritage.

“However, if we do not receive any directive from the department, we will need to follow the usual procedure of complying with the landowner’s wish if they apply to develop the site,” he added.

According to the council’s land zoning records, the plot is meant for a cemetery.

Chee pointed out that the first move to preserve the cemetery would be to find out its land status.

A check with the Gombak Land Office showed that the plot was in the process of being issued to the Sungai Buloh Hospital, which is under the Health Ministry.

When contacted yesterday, Subang MP R. Sivarasa said he would propose to Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali to stop the plan to give the land to the ministry in view of the cemetery’s historical importance.

He said he would also write to the ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department to push to gazette the cemetery as a historical site.

“This is one of the two sites approved by the government as cemetery for the May 13 riot victims, it should be still be recognised for the history it contains.

“Unfortunately, it has been completely neglected,” he said.

Tang, on the other hand, said he would forward the appeal to the National Heritage Department and the state government.

He will also apply for the cemetery to be granted heritage status.

Tang played a pivotal role in preserving the iconic structures of the former Leprosy Settlement, which have recently been turned into a visitors’ centre.

“A family member of one of the May 13 victims contacted me after reading the news report. She also hopes that the cemetery can be preserved.

“The riot was a painful page in the country’s history, but history should not be forgotten, to remind us Malaysians that we should never take racial harmony for granted,” he said.