SANDAKAN – Sweaty-palmed and extremely nervous, Yunizam Yusop held tightly to the side of the boat carrying the body of a Covid-19 victim.
He feared two things on his trip ferrying the deceased from the mainland here to Kg Tronglit on Pulau Timbang: contracting the virus, and bad weather that could see the vessel capsized.
“We thank Allah for protecting us throughout our journey. The burial process went smoothly,” he told The Vibes after the funeral on Saturday.
“It took about 25 minutes to reach the island, and the burial was done in two hours.”
Yunizam and his nine friends are the only ones in Sandakan conducting the grim task of burying coronavirus victims.
For the past seven months, the group, fondly known as the Abam Botak team, has volunteered for this responsibility – for which it seeks no payment – with Health Ministry and police personnel providing supervision.
“I have lost count of how many burials we’ve handled, but this one (on Pulau Timbang) is one that I will never forget,” said Yunizam.
“I was so nervous because the process of getting a body in and out of a boat is not something that we do every day. And, we must do this while ensuring we’re safe from the virus.
“We also worry about the weather, and if the boat will be overweight.”
He said the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the burial of virus victims allow only selected people to be present, and bar bodies from being moved across districts.
“This means that if a patient from Beluran dies in Sandakan, he has to be buried in Sandakan.
“For the Pulau Timbang case, even though the death happened within the same district, it involved the mainland and an island.
“We asked the family if we could bury the deceased on the mainland to avoid the risk of Covid-19 spreading, but they pleaded for the victim to be buried in their village. We could not say no to that.
“With the help of Health Ministry personnel, who made a lot of effort to ensure we could transport the body safely, we sent the victim home to his village on the island.”
Yunizam said it is the team’s second time going to an island to bury a Covid-19 victim.
He said he has personally witnessed how the disease shatters families’ lives when it claims a loved one.
“Covid-19 is not a joke. I hope the people of Sandakan see what I see, that Covid-19 is a killer, and we have to do our best to avoid this killer from coming into our homes. Obey the SOPs and don’t take this virus lightly.”
The Abam Botak team comprises the self-employed, who started providing hearse services here for free three years ago. – The Vibes, June 11, 2021
