by Maria J. Dass (the Sun)
PETALING JAYA (Jan 7, 2010): A national cemetery, Pusara Negara, is being created as a final resting place for the countrys national figures and heroes. But the chosen location near the National Monument is becoming a matter of debate as it will be carved from one of Kuala Lumpurs diminishing green lungs.
The 6ha site for the RM18 million project is located just behind the Administrative and Diplomatic Service Association Club and secretariat building along Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin (see map).
The site, which is now secondary jungle, overlooks the city and the new police headquarters. Checks showed there are signs of clearing work, and two old government quarters have been demolished. Green hoardings and no-entry warnings have been erected to prevent illegal dumping at the site.
When asked about the location of the project, a spokesperson for Kuala Lumpur City Hall said the present recreational areas at the National Monument will not be touched. "The Pusara Negara will actually be an extension to the present park surroundings," he said.
The project comes under the purview of the Prime Ministers Department, and City Hall was assigned to identify a suitable site and to design the landscape.
In a written reply to questions from theSun, senior deputy secretary-general in the PMs Department Datuk Zainol Othman said the aim of this project is to provide a respectable resting place in honour of the nations statesmen and leaders befitting their venerable service to the country.
He clarified that the burial plots are not for sale and that it is up to the government, which will bear the cost of the project, to decide on who are to be laid to rest there.
Zainol gave an assurance that the project will be designed to be in harmony with the environment.
"The green zone around the Tugu Negara will be retained, given that the project is based on the concept of National Mausoleum in the Gardens," he said adding that the burial areas of Muslim and non-Muslims will be segregated by a buffer zone planted with big trees.
Zainol said the whole area will be complemented with various tropical landscaping, complete with suitable water features. "This combination would be presented in fluent harmony, establishing the National Mausoleum as a heritage that will be the pride of all Malaysians," he said.
Asked if the public can voice their views and opinions on the project since it is near a public recreation area, Zainol said: "They can do so through their Members of Parliament.
"Any such views and objections especially, would be brought to Dewan Rakyat or Negara and debated for its appropriate resolution and solution."
In November, Machang Member of Parliament Saifuddin Nasution brought up the issue in the Dewan Rakyat, saying: "There is already a lack of open spaces and green area in Kuala Lumpur and now the public will lose another recreation spot for them and their families."
"We already have a monument to honour our heroes. Is this cemetery necessary?" Saifuddin questioned.
The Federal Territory and Urban Well-Being Ministry in a written reply to Saifuddins queries on the matter had said the site will house 250 plots for Muslims and 250 plots for non-Muslims. Saifuddin claimed that based on his own calculations, each of the 500 graves on prime land in the city has a value of between RM35,000 and RM40,000.
The countrys two former prime ministers Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn and two former deputy prime ministers Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba are buried at the Warriors Mausoleum behind Mesjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur.
First prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, a member of the Kedah royal family, is buried at the Royal Mausoleum in Alor Star.
this project is in the RMK-9 under the purview of JPM^^^^^^