Squatters volunteer to clean up cemetery

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A section of the gravesite behind a squatter’s home. Thieves would hide behind the thick shrubs before breaking into someone’s house or to steal livestock.

A section of the gravesite behind a squatter’s home. Thieves would hide behind the thick shrubs before breaking into someone’s house or to steal livestock.

Mabong inspecting the cemetery after meeting with the villagers. SDNU has agreed to the gotong-royong initiative which will be headed by its Youth wing.

Mabong inspecting the cemetery after meeting with the villagers. SDNU has agreed to the gotong-royong initiative which will be headed by its Youth wing.

KUCHING: For decades, Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) closed one eye to squatters at its five-acre land used as a cemetery at Jalan Foochow here.

Now, the villagers are looking to return the favour by volunteering to clean and maintain the burial ground on the union’s behalf because they were concerned that the cemetery was not properly maintained.

A village representative recently spoke to SDNU member Mabong Unggang on their planned ‘gotong-royong’ activity.

According to Mabong, the villagers were concerned that thick shrubs and tall bushes were not only an eyesore but had become a hiding place for thieves and they were worried that the unkempt cemetery would become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

He said all this while, the squatters had been maintaining certain parts of the cemetery to deter would-be thieves but now they would want to clean up the whole area.

“There are about 30 households squatting at the SDNU land but over the years, families come and go. They have been doing cleaning at certain parts because thieves would hide there to break into someone’s house or steal chickens and other livestock.

“Now, the villagers want to clean the whole place up for hygienic and safety reasons because the cemetery has begun to look like a jungle. They have planned a gotong-royong and hope that SDNU can help provide tools and drinks for their activity,” Mabong told reporters here yesterday.

He also conveyed the message to SDNU Youth chief Churchill Edward Drem who was also present at the interview.

Churchill, meanwhile, said SDNU president Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom had agreed to the request.

Lauding the initiative, SDNU agreed that the graveyard should be maintained at all times to ensure cleanliness, hygiene and safety of the people.

SDNU Youth will oversee the work to be decided on a later date. The cemetery currently houses more than 100 plots since it was opened in the 1970s.