Modernity and Private Bereavement Organisations: An Ethnographic Study of Death Spaces and Practices in the Klang Valley

This thesis examined the commercialisation of Chinese cemeteries and the development of the funeral industry in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study found that the appearance of private 'memorial parks' and large-scale funeral service providers have contributed to a decrease in fear associated with cemeteries and increasingly intimate relations between the living and the dead. These findings offer new perspectives on the funeral industry and on death practices in Chinese communities.