AN undertaker, an elected rep and a funeral association are aiding poor families to bury their loved ones who died from Covid-19.

They told The Malaysian Insight they were doing this as a service as the costs for burial services involving Covid victims are expensive, and the poor are unable to afford.

They also said bottlenecks at government crematoriums were forcing people to go to private centres where the cost is much higher.

Undertaker Ting Chooi Long, with 15 years of experience in the industry, said he had seen families unable to give a decent send-off for their loved ones.

“Their incomes are greatly affected, and with problems getting three meals a day, they have no extra money for the funeral and have to borrow cash,” the 46-year-old said.

“A decent funeral is a final farewell. It is very sad, so I decided to provide free services to those in need.”

Ting’s company is in Klang, one of the severely hit areas in Selangor, and handles an average of 20 Covid-19 deaths a day.

He said the cost for the funeral services has also increased during this time after factoring in the purchase of disinfection equipment, protective clothing and such.

“There is a great expense, but corporate social responsibility must still be exerted to let the deceased rest in peace.”

He welcomes any Chinese families in need to contact him at 012-2389393.

Teratai assemblyman Bryan Lai Wai Chong meanwhile started cooperating with Universal Memorial Park in Semenyih last month to help needy families.

Lai said he recently assisted one family in which seven members were diagnosed with the virus, including the only breadwinner in the family.

Unfortunately, the husband who worked as a taxi driver was admitted to the intensive care unit and died.

His wife was still in quarantine then and was shaken by the event with no financial capability, Lai said.

“After we learned about the situation, we assisted the family in completing the funeral and burial services.

“The Universal Memorial Park took care of everything from collecting the body and conducting the cremation at no charge,” Lai said.

He said that during the pandemic, many families are in similar situations.

“Another family notified me that the funeral company that handled their father’s burial allowed them to pay in instalments. The whole package costs RM15,000.

“Although this fee is considered cheap in the market, it is still a large sum to many who face financial difficulties,” Lai said.

Usually, visitors at physical wake services will support with donation, allowing families to use the money for funeral expenses.

However, according to Lai, families said the amount collected during the pandemic has reduced significantly as not many attend wakes in fear of contracting the virus.

He also welcomed the poor to contact him at 012-2486060, including residents outside of his constituency.

Complaints of excessive cost

Recently, Negri Sembilan exco member Arul Kumar Jambunathan posted on his Facebook that several funeral companies in the state were charging excessively for services involving non-Muslim Covid-19 victims.

He said that this was unacceptable for it will only burden the families of the deceased.

Malaysian Funeral Public Association president Kong Thian Hau admitted this was an issue on the ground now.

“The difference in charges between government cremation sites and private cremation sites is more than three times.

“And because of the overwhelming situation at government cremation sites, the people are forced to turn to private crematoriums,” Kong said.

He added that the industry must increase its expenses by 40% when handling infected bodies.

“Aside from the costs of protective gears and disinfection tools, the industry must also increase employees’ salaries,” Kong said.

To help the poor, the association has set up a committee that looks into providing free funeral services to needy families.

To date, they have handled a total of seven cases. The committee was able to help as it received generous donations from well-meaning individuals.

Families can approach the association for help by calling 012-3555099.

Kong also urged the relevant government agencies to contact the association for free burial services if there were unclaimed bodies in the hospital.

Overall, Malaysia has recorded 1,061,476 Covid-19 cases with 8,551 deaths.

The country’s current record for Covid-19 deaths logged in a single day is 207, which happened for two consecutive days on Monday and Tuesday.

The number of fatalities dropped to 143 yesterday. – July 29, 2021.