Grave relocation in Pengerang to be completed by end August

KOTA TINGGI: Johor Petroleum Development Corporation (JPDC) chief executive Mohd Yazid Jaafar is confident that relocation works on four Chinese cemeteries in Pengerang will be completed by the end of August.
"We are confident that the works, at least the digging of the graves, will be ready by Aug 31 while the time for reburial or cremation will depend on the feng shui," he said.
He said JPDC was happy with the decision of the Civil Court in Johor Baharu on June 19 to reject an injunction application by one of the residents in Pengerang to stop the digging up and relocation of the graves of his ancestors.
"We have had no problems in terms of the law or the Chinese customs and traditions right from the start. The decision gave us the green light to proceed with the relocation works," he said.
He said this when approached at the launching of the Clients' Day With Petronas and JPDC by Deputy Director 1, Johor State Economic Planning Unit (UPENJ) Mohammed Ridha Abd Kadir at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pengerang, in Pengerang today.
On the action by another resident, Chua Peng Sian, 49, who walked for 500km from Pengerang to Kuala Lumpur to protect the graves of his ancestors, Yazid said JPDC had tried to negotiate with the man who is fondly known as Ah Chai.
"We tried to negotiate with him at several levels. In fact we told him that he did not have to walk that far because the door for negotiation is open but he insisted on his stand.
"We respect Chua's stand but at the same time, we also need to respect the rights of the majority," he said.
Chua started his walk from Pengerang on June 1 and he was at the Dataran Merdeka on June 11 to meet with Petronas chief executive officer Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas to submit his protest on the development of the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC).
Four Chinese cemeteries would be relocated to Bukit Gelugor for the implementation of the petroleum complex project and 1,542 graves had been relocated since April 18. – Bernama