...this article dated March 2011.
RETIREE K. C. Ang, 62, went grocery shopping at a hypermarket in Petaling Jaya one day and came home the proud owner of a “condominium in the other world”.
“A memorial park was giving a discount for their niches, so I thought why not? It was a practical decision,” says the grandfather-of-two who has just finished paying off RM24,000 in monthly instalments for a double niche (for him and his wife) in a Shah Alam columbarium.
“The columbarium is located in a park that looks like a resort brightly lit and not eerie at all.”
Grand and serene: The exquisite niches at Nirvana Memorial Park.“At least you'll be able to see your permanent resting place while you are still alive,” he adds cheerfully.
While planning for the afterlife is still considered taboo by some, most modern Chinese professionals now take a practical approach to death, especially since few can afford to ignore the rising costs.
After all, as Benjamin Franklin famously said, in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
Inflation, skyrocketing property prices and a healthy economy have left no industry untouched. And these days, if one plans on resting in peace and comfort in the afterlife, then one had better be prepared to cough up the moolah.
Even for the average person, a decent no-frills, bereavement service these days can cost up to RM8,000.
Ang, for instance, is still paying instalments for a RM30,000 funeral package which he purchased with the niches.
 |
| Blisfully beautiful: Blissful’s Teoh showing the November 2010 cover of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Associates magazine featuring the company. |
Asked if he would consider selling his niche, Ang says he would, if the price is right. “I didn't buy it for investment purposes but if the profit is good, sure.”
For affluent Chinese families, luxury funeral packages have become a growing trend. In Indonesia and Singapore, it was reported that the rich think little of paying RM188,000 for a Canadian jade urn, RM388,000 for a gold-plated casket or a staggering RM1.6mil for a hilltop burial plot.
A check by this reporter reveals that landscaped feng shui burial plots above the RM1mil mark are not uncommon in Malaysia.
NV Multi Corporation Bhd chief operating officer Au Kok Huei explains why some are willing to splurge on the afterlife.
“In ancient China, the emperors would secure good tombs the minute they ascend to the throne because it is believed that major disasters and bad luck can be avoided by burying' it all in the empty plot.
“Personal items like fingernails and hair are also buried to trick the King of Hades into thinking that the person had died and hence, he or she would be left alone' in the mortal realm to lead a longer life.”
Au, however, disagrees with the perception that it's “too expensive to die” these days.
“Yes, there are RM1mil burial plots but these are not for one person it's for an entire family of about 80 people.
“It's unfair to say that private memorial parks are expensive because we cater to a very specific market. You cannot compare a Proton with a BMW,” he says.
He adds that the company does offer discounts on compassionate grounds.
“We are not just out to make a profit. There have been cases where the children tell us that their parent's last wish was to be buried at our memorial park but the family cannot afford it and we try to help.
“There have also been charity cases where we've even given 50% discounts,” he says, adding that as an extra service to clients, the company also offers zero per cent interest instalment payments on its packages.
He notes that burial plots sold at RM20,000 five years ago now have a resale value of RM30,000 to RM35,000.
“The secondary market is good, so those who bought the plots for investment made money. That's why we encourage people to buy in advance,” he says, adding that the company's double burial plots are from RM21,000 onwards and double niches are RM16,000 and above.
NV Multi Corporation Berhad manages the Nirvana Memorial Parks around the country and is South-East Asia's sole listed bereavement services provider operating in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Taiwan.
 |
| Impressive entrance: Blissful Memorial Park boasts of the country’s biggest gateway. |
“As we continue to open up more burial plots, the cost of the plots will escalate as land is scarce,” he explains.
Blissful, which made it into the Malaysia Book of Records for having the biggest gateway in the country (in China, a gateway at the entrance of a settlement signifies the achievement attained by the settlement's residents), operates memorial parks in Sungai Lembu, Bukit Mertajam, and Sungai Pasir in Sungai Petani.
Both Teoh and Au note that the demand for niches has not overtaken burials despite the high cost. The Chinese believe that a decent entombment at an auspicious location and time honours the ancestors and helps the descendants to prosper.
“To the Chinese, feng shui is of the utmost importance so they are willing to spend. At our memorial parks, unlike most clan-owned cemeteries, the purchased plots will never be dug and re-sold it's literally freehold property,” Teoh explains, adding that to save cost and space, smaller plots could be purchased for burying the urns after cremation.
Eternity Bliss Enterprise director Lau Yew Moon says a “decent” cremation ceremony with three days of prayers at the funeral parlour would cost at least RM7,000 that's without flowers and decorations. The same cost only RM5,000 five years ago.
“Everything from the casket, flowers and burial plots to niches and labour has increased so, of course, funerals are more expensive these days. You can still get a niche for RM300 but it will be at an old columbarium and the location would probably be somewhere on the ground floor' beside a drain.
“The new niches start at RM3,000 and can go up to RM15,000. Like any other property, it's all about the location,” he stresses.
Citing another example of higher costs, Lau says a teak wood casket now costs at least RM18,000 because the price of wood has risen by about 30% since 2004.
“The teak is imported from Cambodia and Myanmar and we use local labour to make the caskets. Labour cost is up by 40%.”
Eternity Bliss recently imported an American-made grand casket that's a replica of the one US president Abraham Lincoln was buried in. It takes eight pallbearers to lift the 400kg casket which costs RM30,000.
Lau, 55, notes that the price of an elaborate kong teck ceremony (a ritual that involves prayers and burning of paper effigies to prepare the deceased for his next phase of “life”) is now double the cost a few years ago as paper effigies are more expensive and the craftsmen are a rare breed.
“There is no limit to how much you can spend on a funeral. The Chinese will spare no expense for two major events weddings and funerals. The latter is a reflection of the family's prestige and the deceased's status. It's the last journey, so families try to give the best that they can.”
Eternity Bliss manager Jackie Lau shares that cheap traditional bereavement flowers are no longer popular.
“Chrysanthemums are now considered low-end blooms. Clients are requesting lilies and roses these days. The decorative flowers alone can cost RM3,000 that's 20% more than what clients paid last time.”
She acknowledges that it's getting more expensive to die these days, adding that a tombstone made from local granite, which used to cost RM5,000, now costs RM8,000.
But she also points out a recent trend that shows more clients leaning towards burial at sea.
“After cremation, the ashes are strewn into the sea. It's very convenient and you only pay RM300 for the boat, on top of the cremation costs, of course,” she adds.
For those who prefer the outdoors or find the price of a permanent resting place too steep, the sea may seem inviting. But if one has the money, there is the option of “living” the afterlife in style.
