Crematorium serving Kuala Langat communities to be ready by end-2026
TO serve a growing non-Muslim population, Kuala Langat Municipal Council (MPKL) will open its first crematorium by the end of next year.
Estimated to cost RM5mil, the facility will be built on 0.4ha at a Hindu cemetery along Jalan Serdang Belah, Kampung Sungai Buaya in Banting, Selangor.
Construction is expected to take 18 months.
Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony held at a shopping centre in Telok Panglima Garang, state investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han said the crematorium would have three modern incineration units.
'Presently, Kuala Langat families have to go to facilities in Klang or Sepang, or use open burning methods,' he said.
Also present at the event were state housing and culture committee chairman Datuk Borhan Aman Shah and MPKL president Mohd Hasry Nor Mohd.
Besides the incinerators, building plans include space for religious ceremonies, restrooms and parking that can accommodate three buses, 25 cars and 30 motorcycles.
'There will also be a guardhouse and administrative office, and the facility will be disable- friendly.
'This project has been designed to meet the needs of the district's growing community of Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Sikhs.
'It will provide a comfortable space for families of the deceased to conduct final rites in an organised manner,' said Mohd Hasry. — By VIJENTHI NAIR
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'When the Ministry of Culture prepared a report, it was determined that there are not just old but pre-Hispanic vestiges.' For this reason, according to the lawyer, usage rights of the land are claimed not only by the diocese but also the Lambayeque regional government itself, the current legal owner of the property. Damián also referred to the Multisectoral Committee that currently occupies the site, indicating that, although it has been formalized as an organization, it does not have the authority to administer churches or religious assets. 'Initially, they helped the priest during the feast of the Child of the Miracle, but over time, this became distorted. At one point, they even brought in people outside the Catholic Church who pretended to be priests,' he lamented. Despite the conflict, the lawyer reiterated the diocese's willingness to engage in dialogue with the occupiers. However, he insisted that communion with the Church requires respect for its authority. 'The Church does not impose; the Church is a mother and teacher. But whoever wants to be within it must respect its hierarchy and doctrine,' he emphasized. Both national and pending Vatican recognition On May 17, the Peruvian government declared Ciudad Eten a 'Eucharistic City of National Interest' and announced on May 21 that it would be part of the country's 'Paths of Pope Leo XIV' tourism route. Nonetheless, while the legal status of the land remains unresolved and the sacrileges continue, construction of the basilica shrine cannot move forward. When he was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, then-Cardinal Robert Prevost sought Vatican recognition for the Eucharistic miracle. In 2019, he presented Pope Francis with a document detailing the history of the devotion, which compiles 20,000 testimonies of faith. Since then, the Holy See has retained the documentation. Today, with Prevost having become Pope Leo XIV, official recognition of the miracle is in his hands.--CNA
