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THE Bilal of Surau Nurul Haq in Kampung Sungai Sayong 1, Kulai in Johor has expressed deep regret after the surau's newly acquired funeral van was stolen and severely damaged in a crash—before it had even been used.
Zahiruzaman Saim said the Toyota Hiace van had only recently been obtained from a government department in December last year through an asset disposal programme and had yet to be used for funeral arrangements.
“We only managed to repaint it and apply the stickers. It wasn’t fully ready for use as we hadn’t installed the stretcher yet. It was meant for light, off-road use within the village,” he told Bernama.
Prior to this, the surau, which serves about 30 families, had relied on borrowing a funeral van from Masjid Kampung Murni Jaya for transporting deceased individuals to the Kampung Sayong 1 Muslim Cemetery.
“Sometimes, when there were two deaths at once, things would get delayed. We’d have to ask friends to lend their multipurpose vehicles. We thought with this van, we wouldn’t need to trouble anyone anymore. Sadly, this has happened—what can we do?” he added.
Although resigned to the incident, Zahiruzaman said the surau now hopes to acquire a suitable second-hand vehicle to replace the stolen van and welcomes any donations or support from the public.
On Thursday, police arrested a 21-year-old man believed to have stolen the funeral van from the surau before crashing it into a lorry along Jalan Skudai in Johor Bahru at around 2.30am.
According to Kulai District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Tan Seng Lee, the theft is believed to have occurred between 1am and 2am, shortly before the crash. - Sept 5, 2025
