Headline :Call to turn cemeteries into tourist attractions

NST
Date :10/03/2005
Page :26
Byline :By R.S. Kamini
Type : News

PUTRAJAYA, Wed. - Turn public cemeteries into scenic tourist attractions. They need not be sorry sights.
This was the call made by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, who said burial land should be used to the fullest, including contributing to the nation's tourism industry.
"No doubt cemetery land should be left undisturbed as a sign of respect to the dead, but that doesn't mean it should be neglected," said Dr Ng.
She said hectares of burial grounds nationwide were being completely ignored.
"People are afraid to visit cemetery grounds in our country because people believe they are haunted.
"Some have even become a permanent home for drug addicts."
This had deterred the public from visiting these grounds, she said, except to pay respects to loved ones.
She advised operators to use their funds to beautify cemetery grounds and turn them into peaceful recreational areas like Arlington Cemetery in the United States.
Dr Ng had earlier chaired a dialogue with 150 public cemetery operators at the Ministry of Finance headquarters today.
She said the money used for management and development of cemeteries, including building of crematoriums, would not be taxed.
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