A HINDU community in Taman Peruda in Sg Petani, Kedah is up against a developer who has claimed possession of a plot of land where their ancestors’ graves are located.

In January 2021, UDA Ventures, through its subsidiary, sent notices to the nearby residents that it was taking vacant possession of the land.

It has appointed an Indian subcontractor from Penang to clear the land for a residential development.

Leading the charge against the demolition of the cemetery is Penang deputy chief minister P. Ramasamy, who questioned the Kedah government’s decision to allow a Hindu cemetery to be cleared for development.

“Hindus in Kedah are denied not just their temples and festival holidays, but also their burial grounds. Has the Kedah PAS government succeeded in creating an environment of hostility towards the Indians?” he said.

“Unless there is an intervention of some form, the remains of those estate workers in the cemetery would disappear one and all,” Ramasamy had said in an earlier statement.

The cemetery is more than 60 years years old..

Ramasamy said Hindus in Kedah had lost two temples to demolition and the Thaipusam holiday. Now they face losing their burial grounds, which are considered sacred, he said.

In December, the Alor Star City Council had demolished the Sri Raja Muniswarar Temple in Taman Bersatu, Kuala Kedah because it was built on state land.

It was the second temple demolition in the state in six months after the razing of the 100-year-old Kuil Madura Veeran at the entrance of the Alor Star railway station in July.

“There seems to no end to the vindictiveness of the government and government agencies toward the Indian community,” 

Families’ plea

P. Purusothaman, 68, who lives next to the graveyard in the Taman Peruda housing scheme, hopes that the Kedah government will preserve the land.

The retired armed forces staff sergeant said that it is crucial that the land be preserved in memory of their loved ones.

“My wife’s ancestors are buried here. We are requesting for the land to be taken back by the state government and preserved.

“We are hoping that a memorial be built here in remembrance of the United Patani estate workers who are buried here.”

Purusothaman said among the 33 people that are buried at the site are his wife’s late parents and grandparents.

He said the cemetery was untouched for many years until December 7, when several men had come to the site and claimed that they had bought the land and were planning to clear the area.

“I informed the men that this was an Indian cemetery, adding they have the proper documents to show ownership of the land.

He said that Taman Peruda was developed by the Kedah State Development Corporation which left the cemetery untouched when the housing project was built.

Purusothaman said he had lodged a police report of the proposed clearing of the cemetery and had approached the Menteri Besar’s office five times since December last year seeking a meeting, but was turned away as he did not have an appointment.

In order to get current information on the site, Purusothaman said he went to the Alor Setar Land and District office early this year.  

He said after checking with the department, he found out that Peruda Kedah Sdn Bhd a subsidiary of UDA Land Sdn Bhd, had acquired the land.  

Purusothaman said that he went again in January to the Menteri Besar’s office and met B.K. Kumaresan who is a Special Officer for Indian Affairs.

“I then gave the officer (Kumaresan) a file containing the information on the grave site.”

Purusothaman said that on Thursday, Kumaresan had informed him that Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor might meet him on May 25.

Purusothaman hopes that Sanusi will hear their pleas and preserve the land.

Graves desecrated

The Malaysian Insight had visited the half acre site where the graveyard is located and found broken slabs of tombstones laying amidst shrubs and debris.

Some of the tombstones have the names engraved in Tamil and date back to 1965.

According to Purusothaman, the burial site was desecrated in 1987 by a resident in the area who claimed that he bought the land and was going to develop it. During the clearing of the area most of the tombstones were damaged.

This, he said, had caused an uproar among the community and the person had fled after the incident.

He said that from 1987 until December last year the land was untouched.

Purusothaman said that he has been taking care of the graveyard since the 1980s clearing the weeds and looking after graves.

He said there are still families that will visit the site yearly.

“They will come and chat and find out what’s happening to the land. They are still upset about the desecration that happened in 1987.” – May 4, 2021.