SELANGOR is identifying new government land to be gazetted as Muslim burial grounds, as part of long-term efforts to ensure sufficient burial space for its growing Muslim population.
State Islamic affairs and cultural innovation committee chairman Dr Mohammad Fahmi Ngah said the initiative was among several measures being undertaken by the state government through the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais).
"The state government, through Jais, is working with the relevant agencies to ensure there is sufficient Muslim burial land.
"This is done through systematic planning," he said during the Selangor State Assembly sitting at Bangunan Dewan Negeri Selangor, Shah Alam.
Among measures being implemented, he said, were earmarking suitable government land for future cemeteries and retaining the policy requiring large-scale developments to allocate land for Muslim cemeteries.
Fahmi said the state was also seeking to optimise the use of existing cemeteries by improving plot arrangements and strengthening the cemetery management under local authorities and mosques (kariah).
He said a two-tier burial system might also be introduced at new Muslim cemeteries, subject to proposals from local authorities or the kariah meeting standards set by the state fatwa committee.
He was responding to Abbas Salimmi Che Adzmi (PH–Seri Serdang), who asked about the state government’s plans to address the shortage of Muslim burial plots in his constituency and Selangor.
The exco said the three Muslim cemeteries currently serving Seri Serdang -- Batu 14 Puchong, USJ22 and Tanah Perkuburan Kariah Serdang -- only had an estimated combined capacity of about 2,500 burial plots.
Last month, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said the Federal Government was in talks with Selangor government to identify suitable sites in Semenyih for new Muslim cemeteries to cater to Kuala Lumpur residents.
She said the capital no longer had sufficient land to accommodate the growing demand for Muslim burial grounds, necessitating the need for cross-border planning within the Klang Valley.
