A Christian cross pictured on the top of a church next to Malaysia’s iconic Twin Towers (left) in downtown Kuala Lumpur, on Aug. 26, 2011. Catholics in and around the federal capital of this Southeast Asian country are facing an acute shortage of cemetery land and funeral parlors. (Photo: AFP)
By Vanitha Nadaraj
May 23 2023
In the 80s and 90s, mega housing projects emerged in Selangor state, just outside Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital city of Malaysia. A condition laid out by the state government at the time was that each project allocate land for a cemetery.
The developers, however, managed to get the state officials to relax that ruling with their argument that a cemetery in the middle of a growing township was bad feng-shui and no one would want to buy a house near a cemetery.
A decade later, people started feeling the effect, especially Catholics. The existing cemeteries in the parish grounds were already overpopulated. Many parishes didn’t have cemeteries. The government cemeteries were also full to the brim. It did not seem like much of a problem then because there were private cemeteries. But those were filling up fast and the ones that were available cost an arm and a leg.
The Lutheran Church in Malaysia, realizing the need in the 90s, acquired private land and provided affordable burial plots and columbarium. These were initially meant for their parishioners but they later opened to others to meet the demand. Catholics were among those who rushed to buy and in no time the Lutheran plots were all taken up and only the columbarium was available. So, Catholics opted for the next best thing — cremation.
Francis J. Mascrinhos says the Catholic Church should have worked on finding solutions years ago like the Lutherans. His late uncle P.C. Archibald and friend Norman Dragon, who owned one of the earliest funeral services companies, had been pushing for the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur to find options.
“About 20 to 30 years ago, they raised the matter to the Church and highlighted it in the newspapers,” Mascrinhos says adding that he does not know what has happened since then.
Mascrinhos took over Dragon’s company Norman Funeral Services when the latter passed away in 2011.
In 2013, he wrote to the state chief minister asking for land allocation for a Christian cemetery. Four years later, the state agreed to give a plot of land to the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) to build a cemetery.
“That was in 2017. We don’t know what happened since then,” he says.
Then there is also the issue of funeral parlors. There are about 16 Catholic churches in Kuala Lumpur, and the nearby Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Shah Alam, and Subang Jaya with about 11 funeral parlors. These parishes house the bulk of the 300,000 or so Catholics in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. This figure is a guesstimate given by a senior priest.
There is a constant queue for parlors in the parishes. Some even travel about 40 kilometers to another parish to hold a wake for their dearly departed.
“There are other options besides the church parlors,” says Mascrinhos. “But families want to have their loved ones on church grounds, a holy place next to the church. It’s easy for loved ones to pay their last respects. Also, other parishioners may also pray for the departed soul. It’s a corporal work of mercy.”
He feels this is the reason and not the cost that is making Catholics seek parlors in the parishes. One parish in Petaling Jaya charges about US$90 for the first night and US$40 for subsequent nights. Another parish charges US$110 for each night. In comparison, a medium-range commercially-run funeral parlor in the same vicinity charges about US$130 per night. The high-end ones can cost between US$800 and US$1,200 per night.
“I knew this would happen as far back as 16 years ago,” Mascrinhos says of the shortage of parlors. He attributes it to the increase in the number of apartments in the last 20 years. Almost all apartment managers do not allow wakes or funerals on their premises because tenants consider them taboo. Prior to that, people were living in landed properties and wakes would be held at home.
Mascrinhos feels the Church should be proactive and the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur needs to initiate discussions with Catholic-owned funeral companies, to find a viable long-term solution.
“We have the know-how. We have been in this business for years,” he says.
Mascrinhos’ and other Catholic-run funeral service companies have been dealing with state government officials and city councilors and can support the Church.
The Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur along with its partners in the CFM are working towards a viable solution and are seeking the best they can from the state and federal governments, according to Reverend Father Christopher W. Soosaipillai who oversees matters pertaining to cemeteries.
He says CFM is already liaising with the state government on a cemetery site in Selangor. The CFM is also seeking to meet the Federal Government ministers on allocating more burial grounds and a columbarium site for Christians.
“Efforts are being made to work with Catholic funeral directors,” he adds. – UCA News
