Tue, 11 Jan 2011 | Sun2Surf | By Himanshu Bhatt
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GEORGE TOWN (Jan 10, 2011) : Penang's heritage advocates are distressed to learn that more than 70 graves related to a pioneer family from the 1800s in Batu Lanchang have been dug up.
The graves include the century-old tomb of Koh Seang Tatt, a philanthropist who died in 1899. Koh's family helped develop the island during its early years under colonial rule.
The tomb at the Batu Lanchang Hokkien cemetery, which held the remains of Koh and his wife, was broken into, and the bones and other ceremonial possessions within removed.
Heritage activist Tan Yeow Wooi decried the incident and said the tombs bore much of the island's precious heritage. He expressed deep concern especially about the fate of the main tomb, belonging to Seang Tatt's grandfather, the pioneer kapitan, Koh Lay Huan, who died in 1826, and his wife which lies on a hillock in the cemetery.
State Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who visited the site this evening, said the farmers around the sprawling cemetery had said more than 70 graves were dug up. Some of the remains were found placed in bins and left inside a columbarium.
The graves include the century-old tomb of Koh Seang Tatt, a philanthropist who died in 1899. Koh's family helped develop the island during its early years under colonial rule.
The tomb at the Batu Lanchang Hokkien cemetery, which held the remains of Koh and his wife, was broken into, and the bones and other ceremonial possessions within removed.
Heritage activist Tan Yeow Wooi decried the incident and said the tombs bore much of the island's precious heritage. He expressed deep concern especially about the fate of the main tomb, belonging to Seang Tatt's grandfather, the pioneer kapitan, Koh Lay Huan, who died in 1826, and his wife which lies on a hillock in the cemetery.
State Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who visited the site this evening, said the farmers around the sprawling cemetery had said more than 70 graves were dug up. Some of the remains were found placed in bins and left inside a columbarium.
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| Empty... Chow peers into the century-old tomb of Seang Tatt whose family helped develop Penang island during the 1800s. |
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