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S. Sulawesi man 'forced' to move relatives' graves: 'I didn't vote for cemetery owner'
What initially appeared to be another land dispute has apparently turned into a bizarre instance of politics haunting the dead.
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Abdul Rauf Dg Ngampa claimed that he was forced to exhume and move the bodies of his relatives because he did not vote for BT in the 2019 legislative election in April. (Twitter.com/Daeng_Info)
A
resident of South Polongbangkeng district in Takalar regency, South Sulawesi, has said that he had to move his relatives' remains to another cemetery on Tuesday at the urging of BT, the cemetery's owner and a local Gerindra Party politician.
Abdul Rauf Dg Ngampa claimed that he was forced to exhume and move the bodies of his relatives because he did not vote for BT in the 2019 legislative election in April.
“Four graves belonging to my relatives had to be moved because I didn’t vote for the cemetery owner,” Abdul told tribunnews.com on Tuesday, adding that BT’s wife told him to relocate the remains.
Seorang caleg gagal di Kab. Takalar membongkar empat makam diatas tanah kuburan miliknya di Kec. Polongbangkeng Selatan, Takalar. Caleg gagal tersebut tidak terima karena keluarga pemilik 4 makam tersebut memilih caleg lain
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ckckck ada2 saja manusia 🙈🙈 pic.twitter.com/9YKkwoSpK8
— Daeng Info (@Daeng_Info) June 11, 2019
Abdul, who is the chairman of the local Golkar Party branch, said he was willing to move the bodies because he had never intended to vote for the Gerindra politician.
“It’s impossible for me to switch my political affiliation, even though my brother works for the Gerindra Party,” he said.
South Polongbangkeng district head Baharuddin Dg Limpo said he had received a report on the dispute after Abdul had already moved the remains.
“If only he had submitted the report before he had exhumed the [bodies], the local administration would have intervened legally as a mediator,” Baharuddin said.
He also stated that it was unethical to tell someone to exhume the bodies of their relatives just because of their political preference.
“I hope something like this never happens again,” said Baharuddin.
BT denies ever telling Abdul to move his family’s graves.
“I never said such a thing. I don't even know [the people] who moved the graves,” he said. (rfa/ahw)
