Travesty!

Credible sources have informed me that Bukit Lanjan Assemblywoman and Selangor State EXCO member for Tourism and Environment YB Elizabeth Wong wrote a letter to the Mayor of Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) ordering that the 85 acres gazetted for a Muslim burial ground be revoked. Instead, the State government has decided to only allocate 22 acres. The land in question is located in Section 9 Kota Damansara, within the Subang Parliamentary constituency.

I find this decision to be absurd and insensitive. It astounds me that YB Elizabeth did not think that such an act – if made public, as it should – would draw negative and possibly dangerously angry responses from the Malay-Muslim community. But my disappointment and frustration in YB Elizabeth is superseded by my regret and sorrow that the Mentri Besar of Selangor, a Malay and a Muslim, would allow such a travesty to occur.

It is further exasperating that the decision to revoke the 85 acres and only award 22 was said to be made to allow for a botany park instead. Why on Earth does the Selangor State Government thinks it fit that a botany park necessitates trampling upon racial and religious sensitivities? As anyone who has been in the area would testify, there are already ample parks and many strip malls conducive for modern day living.

YB Elizabeth Wong, Mentri Besar YAB Khalid Ibrahim and the entire State Government must ensure that this decision is reversed and the initial awarding of 85 acres for the Muslim cemetery is reinstated. Nothing touches Muslims’ nerves than when even land for the dead is messed with.