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Monday, 26-Apr-2004 8:40 AM SPECIAL REPORT The Bukit Kiara Cemetery Controversy As Reported by the Malay Mail of 24 November 2003 THE Desa Kiara Owners and Resident Association has come out to defend its campaign against a graveyard adjacent to its condominium. In a statement, the association said it only went public after repeated attempts to have a dialogue with the authorities failed. Desa Kiara Owners and Residents Association (DKORA) chairman Michael M. F. Yong said to brand the residents as "selfish and putting our needs over others " is an attempt to distort the facts. In response to The Malay Mail article on November 21, Yong said their actions and responses have always been non-confrontational. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, speaking after the cemetery’s ground-breaking ceremony, had asked the residents to stop their protest. He urged the residents to understand the Government's position as there is a lack of burial ground and "we are trying to solve the problem." Tengku Adnan said the project is an extension of the existing Bukit Kiara cemetery which has been there since 1984. In the article, Tengku Adnan was quoted as saying: "When these residents bought their homes 10 years ago, they were well aware of the existence of the cemetery." In response, Yong said there were several misleading statements made to the Press. He also gave a brief history of the development of Desa Kiara Condominium to give a better understanding of the situation. "The Desa Kiara condominium project was approved by City Hall in 1991, and during the launch, there was no indication that a graveyard was to be built then," Yong said. The
six blocks of condominiums were completed in 1994. "It was when the residents moved in 1994 that they noticed some burial activities taking place, signifying perhaps, the start of the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery." Yong said a letter was sent to Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) suggesting that some flower-bearing trees be planted in the vicinity of the graveyard. "This is to reduce the impact of some units facing the graveyard even though it was some distance away. Jawi was kind enough to oblige." Therefore, he said, to say that they are against the building of a Muslim cemetery is far from the truth. However, on the issue of Kuala Lumpur not having enough land to bury the dead, Yong said they only have to look beyond Bukit Kiara where acres of land are still available. "True, the city is expanding its limits, but we have more than enough land to accommodate its horizontal expansion. We should be looking beyond the horizon where the dead can truly find a peaceful and serene environment to rest in peace." Yong said the present site does not offer this important element. "One cannot help but wonder how a place with 200,000 passing trafiic daily can constitute an appropriate ‘final resting place' for the dead. We are sincere and earnest in our appeal to let common sense prevail, and God willing, to ultimately lead us to find a solution," he said. The plight of these residents were first highlighted on November 19, when some 2,500 residents urged Kuala Lumpur City Hall to find another site for the graveyard. The proposed cemetery is separated from the condominiums by just a monsoon drain. While not against the government and development, the residents felt that a cemetery right at their doorstep is just not right, for health, psychological and economic reasons.
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