Floods: Elderly man's remains ferried by boat for two kilometres for burial

TUMPAT: The remains of a senior citizen from Kampung Kajang Sebidang had to be ferried out using a boat for almost two kilometers this evening after floodwater rose to about two metres (m) since last Sunday.

Shahril Mohd Othman, 19, said his grandfather Sulong Ahmad, 88 died of natural causes at about 10 am today and was carried out using a Pengkalan Kubur Fire and Rescue Station boat.

He said an earlier plan to bury his grandfather at the Kampung Kajang Sebidang Muslim Cemetery had to be abandoned because the cemetery was flooded.

The remains then had to be buried at the Kampung Jal Kechik Muslim Cemetery.

"We contacted the authorities at about noon to request for a boat to ferry my grandfather's remains to Kampung Jejulok, which is about two kilometers from our home where the hearse was waiting," he told reporters at Kampung Jejulok here today.

Meanwhile, Pengkalan Kubor Fire and Rescue Station chief Raja Arisansahseni Raja Semail said he received a call at about 12.20 pm from the family of the deceased asking for a boat.

-- BERNAMA