SIBU: A meeting will be held to discuss ways to improve the condition of the Muslim cemetery behind Masjid Al-Qadim here, says Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development said that although the cemetery was no longer being used since July 2021 as it had run out of space, it needed to be kept in good condition as it is located right behind the state’s oldest mosque.
Dr Annuar disclosed that he has allocated fund totalling RM150,000 to upgrade Sibu’s oldest Muslim cemetery at Sibu Town Square Phase 2.
“That site is an important historical location for the Muslims and Malay Melanau community in Sibu,” he said in his speech during the launching ceremony of “Masjid Al-Qadim Nadi Masyarakat Islam Sibu” book at Masjid Al-Qadim here yesterday.
Dr Annuar, who is also Nangka assemblyman, felt grateful that the previous leaders did not disturb the area, and instead built it well to preserve the historical treasures of the community here.
For the record, the cemetery was used as a burial site by early Malay settlers who arrived in Sibu during the Brunei Sultanate administration era in 1599.
Over 70 Muslims were buried there and among those laid to rest at the site are Datuk Bandar Abang Ali Bolhassan Ali and Datuk Temenggong Abang Ali Yusuf Abang Ali Bolhassan.
However, the burial activity at the site stopped during the Japanese invasion in 1941 and thereafter because of soil erosion at the riverbank that caused serious damage to the cemetery site.
The old cemetery is among the nine heritage sites included in the Sibu Heritage Trail which is an initiative by the Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) in 2012 to promote Sibu as a city of cultures and festivals besides a gateway to the central region of the state.
