Family graves and the environment

Family graves and the environment

From Republika

It has been an old custom for villagers to bury their dead family members on their own plots instead of in public cemeteries. So, when a medical school is being built in Pekanbaru, Riau, hundreds of millions of rupiah have to be spent on moving such graves.

Twenty-five years ago, I reported the case to then environment minister Emil Salim. He replied to my letter and sent me a three- year subscription to an environmental magazine. But I was sure he failed to notice my anxiety about the burial customs.

In my view, rural communities should not be allowed to bury corpses on their own land. In each regency or district, for instance, only one public cemetery is permitted. I do hope that the present Minister of Environment Affairs, Rachmat Witoelar, will study the matter.

SYAIFUL P. Balairaja, Riau