Dealing with the Dead in Malaysia Slug: Malaysia exhibition Reporter: Clarence Chua Date: INTRO: Malaysias Malacca

state has been a cultural crossroads for centuries. Its strategic location along one of the worlds busiest shipping routes made it a pri e for merchants and colonists ali!e. Cultures from across the world mixed here " and remain in local rituals. #hat includes customs and religious beliefs around death. Clarence Chua finds out $ust how Malaccans deal with their dead. Text: %or centuries Malacca offered safe anchor& where ships waited out the monsoon before tra'eling bac! to (urope. Merchants& explorers and locals all gathered here " and this mix of cultures and commerce helped shape modern Malaysia. #he Chinese Muslim admiral )heng *e landed his fleet here& on his way to explore the Indian +cean in the early ,-th century. .ater the /ortuguese& Dutch& and 0ritish all fought for control " and all left their mar!. S%1 ,: 0irds Chirping Im in 0astion *ouse behind the old /ortuguese fortress 2 %amosa. Inside Malaccas funeral customs are on display& put on by the Malacca Museum Corporation. #he exhibitions called 30eyond (ternity& and museum manager 4hamis 2bas shows me around Malaccas dealings with the dead. 4hamis clip , 5male6Malay766: 8+ur exhibition begins with /era! Man& which is from the /aleolithic age. #his comes from 9re!& in /era! state& and the site is the latest to be included as a :;(SC+ heritage site.

/era! Man is the oldest human s!eleton found in Malaysia and dates bac! ele'en thousand years. 4hamis clip < 5male6Malay766: 8#his is uni=ue because it shows how a person was buried before the coming of Islam. /era! Man was buried in a foetal position with his right hand holding some meat. *e was buried together with snails& deer& por!& li ard& and mon!ey meat& and other things that he used in his e'eryday life.> S%1 <: Sound of 4hamis ?al!ing 4hamis clip @2 5male6Malay766: 8*ere we ha'e an exhibition on how the +rang 2slis and the Ibans and 4ada ans in Sabah and Sarawa! are buried>. 3+rang 2sli means 3original people " meaning the indigenous minority in /eninsular Malaysia. Ibans and 4ada ans on the other hand are nati'es of Sabah and Sarawa! states& on 0orneo Island. 4hamis clip @0 5male6Malay766: 8#he indigenous funeral rites are generally almost the same. 2mong the +rang 2slis some are buried in the ground and some are left on a tree& because they belie'e that when a person dies the spirits will return and obser'e the li'ing. 2ccording to their custom& if a man dies his wife cannot remarry for a certain period& and his house must be emptied of e'erything. In earlier practice the whole 'illage had to mo'e to a different place& because the spirit would come bac! and haunt them. #hat is why +rang 2sli dont really ha'e tombstones.> S%1 @: Sound of the Muslim Call to /rayer ;ext up& Muslim burials. Malacca became a sultanate after the ruler con'erted to Islam in ,A,A. 4hamis clip A 5male6malay766: 8Muslims are buried according to the Buran and the *adiths which say what can or cannot be done. #he deceased is cleaned and wrapped and the body isnt !ept long. If he passed away before morning prayers& its better for him to be buried before afternoon prayers. Rich or poor& he will be wrapped in white. 2ccording to the teachings of Islam& a person is born white and pure and will return to 9od in the same manner. S%1 -: *indu Chants Malaccas Indian community are mostly *indu "they rarely bury their dead. 4hamis clip - 5male6Malay766: 8%or *indus the body is cremated. .i!e in India the ashes are scattered. Cremation is still practiced in Malacca but you cant burn the bodies in the

open here. It can only be done in a go'ernment recogni ed crematorium. In earlier times there were taboos& for example a widow was forbidden to get married again. *owe'er& this is no longer practiced.> S%1 C: Sounds of Chinese +pera #he Chinese ha'e traded along the Malacca coast for centuries " long before (uropeans and Muslims arri'ed. #heyre probably Malaccas most extra'agant community when it comes to burying their dead. 4hamis clip C 5male6Malay766: 8#he richer you are the bigger the tombs. 0ut this is also slowly changing now because burial space is limited. #he Chinese preser'e the body for two to three days. #hey pray and burn paper copies of items for use in the afterlife. 2s we can see here& there are items li!e paper houses and more contemporary items such as motorcycles& cellphones and e'en i/hones.> S%1 D: Sound of Christian /rayers #he /ortuguese first brought Christianity to Malaysia " then the Dutch and the 0ritish followed up. #he exhibition ends with western coffins and tombstones with crosses. 4hamis clip D 5male6Malay766: 8It is easy to identify a Christian gra'e as they are all mar!ed with the sign og the cross. #his was first done by the /ortuguese community& but as we !now there are also Chinese and Indians who are Christians. #he role of the priests are important and the rites ha'e remained more or less the same. #he only difference is that these days prayers and the funeral are all done in (nglish>. 4hamis said the exhibition aims to educate the public on the ine'itable. 4hamis clip E 5male6Malay766: 8#he idea is to show the 'arious 'ersions of dealing with death among the different races we ha'e in Malaysia. It is also to inform both locals and foreign 'isitors that they ha'e to be ready to die one day.> #his is Clarence Chua in Malacca for 2sia Calling.