KUALA NERANG: Receding water levels at the Pedu Lake exposed an old cemetery in Kampung Mong Gajah, believed to be around 100 years old, since the start of this month.
This has allowed approximately 300 next of kin from the village, as well as local residents, to visit the graves and hold tahlil and prayers for those interred there.
One of them, Ismail Md Daud, 62, said his late grandfather was among those buried in the graveyard.
"My father, Md Daud Hassan, 90, once lived in Kampung Kuala, which is near Kampung Mong Gajah. Kampung Kuala was also submerged for the Pedu Dam project, just like Kampung Mong Gajah.
"But my father moved from Kampung Kuala due to the many mysterious illnesses affecting the village," he told reporters during the event on Saturday.
For Mohamad Khori Idris, 58, the imam of Kampung Tong Pelu nearby, the tahlil was held to gather the relatives of the residents of Kampung Mong Gajah and surrounding villages, including those now residing in Batu Kurau, Perak.
"Many people came here, similar to 2020 when the water levels in the lake also receded, exposing old graves. This situation not only provides an opportunity for relatives but also for local residents to engage in recreational activities such as camping here," he said.
Meanwhile, the event was also attended by Padang Terap Member of Parliament Nurul Amin Hamid, who mentioned that around 15 villages in the area were submerged for the Pedu Dam project in the 1960s.
He noted that the old cemetery was not relocated because the Kedah Islamic Affairs Department and the Kedah Mufti's Department saw no need to do so, given the graveyard's considerable age.
"We pray for those interred here to be placed among the righteous and we also pray that the lake area is replenished with water to be used for domestic and agricultural purposes in Kedah, Perlis and Penang," he said.
As of today, the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) website states that the water level at Pedu Dam is at 33.21 per cent, while its other two dams, Muda Dam and Ahning Dam, have levels of 7.80 per cent and 78.50 per cent, respectively.