ABOUT 10km from Sg Buloh Hospital, the treatment facility for patients with severe Covid-19, a Muslim cemetery in Kg Merbau Sempak is rapidly filling up with the bodies of victims of the disease.
It is where 51-year-old gravedigger Mohd Rahim Talib carries out the unenviable task of burying the dead.
Yet unlike municipal grave-diggers, who were vaccinated against the virus in the first phase of the national immunisation campaign, Rahim, a gravedigger for 35 years, said he is still waiting for shots.
“Although I have recently received an appointment date for vaccination, there are many village gravediggers like me, the last handlers of Covid-19 victims, who are still waiting to be inoculated,” he said.
Fellow gravedigger Mat Nor Saibani Bunari, 54, is still waiting for his appointment.
Mat Nor said he was afraid to handle the Covid-19 bodies at first, but has grown accustomed to it after having to deal with it daily.
Rahim said the gravediggers live in fear of infection, not only for themselves but their families at home.
This is despite the Health Ministry’s guidance on how they can protect themselves from the coronavirus. Rahim said officials are present at Covid-19 burials to ensure health protocols, such as the correct employment of personal protective equipment, are followed.
Still, he said the risk of infection remains as long as one is unvaccinated.
Rahim hopes the government will speed up vaccination, especially for village gravediggers. - June 10, 2021.
Mohd Rahim Talib puts on a protective face shield before the burial of a person who has died from the coronavirus, at a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Mohd Rahim Talib at home with his grandchildren in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. He fears his job as a gravedigger may lead to him – and his family – being infected with Covid-19. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Mohd Rahim Talib helps his wife Norhana Nordin in the kitchen, in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Gravedigger Mohd Rahim Talib is relieved to finally get an appointment for vaccination. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Mohd Rahim Talib mows the grass at the cemetery where he works, in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Gravediggers prepare a place for a Covid-19 victim at a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.A vehicle arrives with the body of a Covid patient at a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.To prevent infection, gravediggers are required to comply with health and safety rules, such as the use of personal protective equipment, at work. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Gravediggers work at night burying a coronavirus victim who died in the afternoon, at a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Gravedigging is a grim job but somebody has to do it, particularly in a time of pandemic, at a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Flowers grow at the graves at a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.Mohd Rahim Talib takes a break from work, at a Muslim cemetery in Kampung Merbau Sempak, Sungai Buloh, Selangor. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Najjua Zulkefli, June 10, 2021.
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