Halim (left) and Kaspullah making kepok. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
MALAYS in Johor call it kepok while it is known as dapur among Singaporean Malays.
It is a rectangular headstone commonly found in Muslim cemeteries in both countries.
Halim Midi is among the few kepok makers left in Johor with a workshop in the backyard of his house in Kampung Pekajang, Gelang Patah, Johor.
“The business was started by my late father Midi Suradi in 1965,’’ he said in an interview.
The 76-year-old said he continued the trade after his father died in 1980.
Halim is assisted by his three sons – Kaspullah, 48, Azhar, 39, and Azmi, 28 – on a part-time basis as they have full-time jobs.
The father of seven and grandfather of 22 said he started learning to make the headstone when he was seven years old.
“Before taking over the business, I did odd jobs around Gelang Patah and helped my father on a part-time basis,” he said.
Halim went into the trade full-time as demand for kepok was encouraging, especially from nearby villages.
The headstones engraved with the name and dates of birth and death of the deceased, are also built as a marker.
“It has nothing to do with Islam; it marks a grave to make it much easier for families to find it when visiting the place,’’ said Halim.
He said kepok was also built to protect the grave from soil erosion.
Halim said nobody really knew how the name came about but he believed it was from the word kepongan, which meant to protect or hold something.
The headstones at Halim’s workshop are made from gypsum cement mixed with terrazzo chips.
The white variation is priced at RM900.
The black and green options come with a RM1,000 price tag and the colour is achieved by mixing in cement colouring.
“Gypsum cement, sand and terrazzo chips are mixed together and the mixture will be poured into moulds to dry for a week or up to 10 days,’’ he said.
Kepok is fabricated at the workshop in four pieces measuring 1.82m by 1.0m and installed at the grave on top of the foundation.
“The kepok is usually placed at the grave 100 days after a person has died,’’ said Halim.
