KUALA LUMPUR: The increase in population has led to 19 Muslim cemeteries in Kuala Lumpur reaching 80 per cent of their capacity.
Harian Metro reported that the situation was the same in Putrajaya, Penang and Melaka, which necessitates further implementation of a tiered burial system.
It is estimated that Muslim cemeteries in the Federal Territory will only be able to accommodate burials for another five years.
Checks on ePusara website managed by the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) showed there is a total of 71.7 ha of Muslim cemeteries in the federal capital.
They comprise six zones of Muslim cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the respective mosque kariah (congregation) and others which are under Jawi's jurisdiction.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religous Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said Jawi was allocated with 89 ha of land in Semenyih to be used as burial plots for Muslims from the Federal Territory
Three years ago, Harian Metro had reported three years ago about the shortage of burial plots for Muslims and how the cemeteries could only accommodate burials for the next 15 years. The daily had also reported at that time that Muslim cemeteries in the Federal Territory had already reached 70 of their capacity.
Jawi director Datuk Mohd Ajib Ismail said 19 Muslim cemeteries under Jawi's jurisdiction have now reached 80 per cent capacity.
He said as of July this year, there are total of 9,957 burial plots or 16.20 per cent out of the overall 61,235 burial plots left for Muslims in the Federal Territory.
"The remaining burial plots could last for another three to five years," Ajib told Harian Metro.
He said seven of those Muslim cemeteries are under the management of Jawi, which were known as Tanah Perkuburan Islam Raidhatul Sakinah with a capacity of 145,257 burials.
He said as of July this year, 15,606 burial plots or 10.74 per cent of them are still vacant.
Meanwhile, Penang Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Sukki Othman said the state has been implementing the tiered burial system for the past 20 years to address any shortages of burial plots.
The state , which has more than 530,000 Muslim residents has guidelines for tiered burials.
Sukki said Masjid Jamiul Badawi in Kepala Batas become the first location to utilise the tiered burial system in the state.
Pusat Syariah Darul Fitri manager Hafiz Za'farani said shortages of grave plots could be addressed by either identifying more land for Muslim cemeteries or by implementing the tiered burial system.
He said if a tiered burial system was not practiced, Muslims in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Penang and Melaka would soon face shortages of burial plots.