letter to the editor: respect the dead
RESPECT THE DEAD
Dear Editor, In response to the article entitled “No peace even at final resting place” published in the New Straits Times on 21st October 2013 , I would like to bring the notice of all readers, the total disregard shown by irresponsible people and organizations which should have maintained and ‘preserved’ the cemeteries not only for Christian but for all religions in Malaysia. The sad plight that occurred to the ‘occupants’ of the Christian cemetery at Rawang should have opened the eyes of Malaysians to the need to act responsively and together to consider the welfare of the cemeteries’ occupants. As a concerned citizen, I have visited the Muslim cemetery near my hometown and I was shocked to see, a great deal of rubbish and poor maintained area even though the cemetery looks to be in good condition from a distance. While Muslim cemeteries have not been vandalized, as happened recently to some Christian cemeteries, it is hurtful to see that those who have gone are not being respected. In Malaysia, we live in a multi-cultural society; we respect each other from different races and similarity, we should respect the deceased in their final resting place. Taking Japanese culture as an example, we should accept the good side of their time orientation where the anniversary of the death of a loved one is celebrated, illustrating that their culture places value on the past. We could do something derived from our own culture to value and respect people in the past, like conducting a ‘gotong-royong’ to clean the area around the graves. We live in a high-context culture with strong interpersonal bond and we practice egalitarianism, responsibility and social justice. Therefore, believers of each respective religions – Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and others should be concerned about the current condition of cemeteries because, at the end of the day, that will be our final ‘place’ too. Volunteer organizations and generous individuals could donate
Dear Editor, In response to the article entitled “No peace even at final resting place” published in the New Straits Times on 21st October 2013 , I would like to bring the notice of all readers, the total disregard shown by irresponsible people and organizations which should have maintained and ‘preserved’ the cemeteries not only for Christian but for all religions in Malaysia. The sad plight that occurred to the ‘occupants’ of the Christian cemetery at Rawang should have opened the eyes of Malaysians to the need to act responsively and together to consider the welfare of the cemeteries’ occupants. As a concerned citizen, I have visited the Muslim cemetery near my hometown and I was shocked to see, a great deal of rubbish and poor maintained area even though the cemetery looks to be in good condition from a distance. While Muslim cemeteries have not been vandalized, as happened recently to some Christian cemeteries, it is hurtful to see that those who have gone are not being respected. In Malaysia, we live in a multi-cultural society; we respect each other from different races and similarity, we should respect the deceased in their final resting place. Taking Japanese culture as an example, we should accept the good side of their time orientation where the anniversary of the death of a loved one is celebrated, illustrating that their culture places value on the past. We could do something derived from our own culture to value and respect people in the past, like conducting a ‘gotong-royong’ to clean the area around the graves. We live in a high-context culture with strong interpersonal bond and we practice egalitarianism, responsibility and social justice. Therefore, believers of each respective religions – Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and others should be concerned about the current condition of cemeteries because, at the end of the day, that will be our final ‘place’ too. Volunteer organizations and generous individuals could donate