Lae cemetery policy wears away over the years

THE old Lae Cemetery, opposite the Huon Gulf Motel, was initially established to cater for early settlers, mainly expatriates, who had contributed one way or other in the early development of Lae and Morobe during the period after World War 2 through to the 1960s and early 1970s.
The Malahang (Second Seven) Cemetery on the other hand was established to cater for locals who would not have had the capacity or means to transport their loved ones back to their original home districts, during the same period.
The above were the established policies regarding the old Lae City cemetery usage requirements.
In recent years, however, this policy position has somewhat changed.
The old Lae Cemetery is now being used to bury mainly our Morobe leaders who had contributed their entire working life serving the Morobe people.
These include non-Morobeans, both expatriates (businessmen/women) and national, (public servants), who had contributed to the early development of the province one way or another during their entire working life away from their provinces.
What is of concern, however, is that why would the Lae City Authority allow for this cemetery to be used for burying persons
well known for their past ill behaviour towards the community at large?
What or how had such persons contributed to the overall progress of development of the city and Morobe to earn them the right to be buried there?
The cemetery requires the respect it needs to accommodate for decent and well-respected leaders and not such persons of ill repute.
Let us hope that in future, city officials do not make the same mistake in accepting similar requests again from relatives of such persons.
These must be stopped once and for all.

Lorenitz Gaius
Lae