Perak Floods Strong Currents Wash Away Coffins Bodies In Bukit Gantang

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BUKIT GANTANG: Floods damaged graves at the Muslim cemetery in Kampung Toh Johan, Kuala Trong, causing some buried bodies to resurface.
Residents said some coffins were dislodged from graves and some bodies buried a month ago were swept away by strong currents.
Bukit Gantang member of parliament Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal said he was informed of the incident.
He said several tomb slabs and gravestones at the cemetery were damaged.
"Strong currents have carried away many things, including graves, as seen in photos from Kuala Trong.
"Coffins containing bodies have been dislodged and roads have cracked.
"I will rent excavators and other equipment to cover the graves again.
"Villagers may have moved some of the bodies already," he said after visiting the temporary flood evacuation centre at SK Simpang in Taiping today.
Asked whether immediate action would be taken at the cemetery, such as building a flood-retaining wall to prevent future flooding, Syed Abu Hussin said this could only be decided at a meeting involving various parties.
"I cannot decide on my own because there are legal and other considerations. I will discuss it with the mosque and village committees.
"To implement any improvements, we must hold a meeting to reach a decision."
Syed Abu Hussin, who is also head of the National Food Security Action Council Task Force, described the flood as one of the worst to hit his constituency.
A total of 1,813 flood victims from 645 families are sheltering at 19 centres in the Larut, Matang and Selama district, which also covers the Bukit Gantang constituency.
He said to help his affected constituents, mothers with babies and elderly residents with chronic illnesses would be moved to a hotel in Taiping.
He said he planned to propose to the Larut, Matang and Selama District and Land Office that the Bukit Gantang Parliamentary Service Centre be used as a flood relief centre.
"I will arrange for these groups to go to a hotel so that they are more comfortable. Some have just given birth or are ill and will find it difficult at the relief centres."
Syed Abu Hussin hoped the government would give attention to the Integrated Flood Mitigation Plan, particularly in Bukit Gantang, which frequently floods.
"I have repeatedly stated in Parliament that priority must be given here because sometimes floods come unexpectedly, even though they are recurring. This request is not extraordinary." - NST

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