One-of-a-kind job: This M’sian Chinese uncle has been handmaking Batu Nisan for over 4 decades

When we talk about jobs, it’s typical for us to have common answers like being a lawyer, accountant or a teacher. However, for this uncle it seems like he has taken up a rather unusual skill, which is handmaking Batu Nisan otherwise known as Muslim tombstones.

This M’sian Chinese uncle has been handmaking Batu Nisan for over 4 decades

Mr. Kuah Leong Chuan is truly one of a kind as his way of sustaining his livelihood is to handmake Muslim Tombstones for over 40 years. According to local newspaper Harian Metro, it was said that Mr. Kuah had learned his skills from his late father when was 20. Hailing from Kuala Selangor, it was said that there weren’t many jobs available back in the 1950s.

Seeing that his father had a family business where they craft tombstones, Mr. Kuah started fine tuning his skills. Prior to this, Mr. Kuah’s great-great-grandfather was said to have crafted animal stone sculptures for Buddhist and Taoist temples in China.

As they migrated to Malaya in the 1800s, his great-great-grandfather has brought his skills and trade with him, however Mr. Kuah did not learn the craft of carving stone sculptures from his father, leading to skill to be lost forever.

“After the end of World War II, we began learning a new skill, which happened to be carving tombstones”, he said.

Can read and write Jawi scripts

Following his expertise, Mr. Kuah was able to learn how to read and write Jawi scripts, as well as speak Bahasa Malaysia, English and Hokkien fluently. When asked how he learned Jawi, he shared that he has always found it amusing.

“People always asked how I learned it and it’s all through experience”, said Mr. Kuah.

He revealed that throughout the years, he was tasked to write Jawi epitaphs and from the years of experience and practice, he can now differentiate and write the correct characters to use for the tombstones.

Proud of the skills he mastered

Along with his exceptional skills in stone carving, Mr. Kuah revealed that people all around Malaysia would contact him for hand-crafted tombstones for the loved ones who passed. He shared that all his tombstones are made from superior granite, a tough and hardy material.

As opposed to cheaper options like cement or limestone, he revealed that with the weather conditions and other external factors, tombstones made of granite would last longer and will not erode. To date, Mr. Kuah is able to complete a headstone in just three days and given his traditional methods, he is still sticking by his trusty old mason mallet, hand chisel and chipper.

Unfortunately, Mr. Kuah could possibly be the last of his kind as he does not see anyone taking over his crafts and learning his skills. He revealed that even his children doesn’t want to learn the skills as it’s a skill that takes years of practice and patience.

“I understand that this would discourage the youngsters from learning, for us back then, we had little to no options as there weren’t much to do around”, he said.

Ending the interview, when asked about why he decided to continue his crafts for so many years, he said:

“There’s this Malay saying that goes ‘sekadar suka-suka saja’, which means, ‘just for fun.”

He shared that throughout the years, he had kept it in mind to do it at his own pace and when time is up, he would just pack up and go home, before repeating his routine again.

It’s truly inspiring to see the older generation trying to keep their skills alive and staying active. 

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Also read: Banker2baker: A successful career switch that allowed this M’sian to open his own bakery in London!