Once a troubled teen, now life has changed for this gravedigger

Compiled By Austin Camoens And C. Aruno

WHILE his peers chose to pursue a career in the capital, one man is braving the elements and working as a gravedigger.

Berita Harian reported that Muhammad Jailani Ahmad Zawawi, 34, has been at the job for the past 15 years.

Admitting to being rather mischievous during his teenage years, Muhammad Jailani said taking on this job changed his life considerably and made him a better and more mature individual.

“At the beginning I only helped my father, who was heavily involved in volunteer work around Batang Benar (Negri Sembilan), including helping with funeral managements.

“After finishing my SPM, I used to work in wholesale markets and on oil rigs,” he recalled.

When he was 18, his father forced him to help the Masjid Batang Benar parish as a gravedigger, he said, adding that he started working on his own in 2014.

“After that I became more responsible and am always in a state of readiness.

“Now, I pray five times a day. Even without a basic salary and only expecting emoluments from the mosque, I am satisfied to be able to help,” he said.

Muhammad Jailani said sometimes in the middle of the night, he would be called upon by the mosque imam to carry out his duty.

> Actor Ezzrin Loy admitted that he was uncomfortable when a video of him going down an escalator with actress Sharifah Rose went viral a few months ago, according to Harian Metro.

Ezzrin, 26, said the video breached not only his privacy but that of someone else as well.

Relating the incident, he said they had just finished having lunch with a friend after playing golf.

“I’m not comfortable with someone secretly taking the video and spreading it because it involves other people’s privacy,” he said.

He added that there were many other issues that were more important than the story of them going down an escalator together.

Reluctant to elaborate about his relationship with Sharifah Rose, 24, Ezzrin said he was fine being good friends with the actress, whom he has known since they were students.

● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.