This has allowed approximately 300 next of kin from the village, as well as local residents, to visit the graves and hold tahlil and prayers for those interred there.

One of the residents, Ismail Md Daud, 62, said his late grandfather was among those buried in the graveyard.

Khori Idris, 58, the imam of nearby Kampung Tong Pelu, said the tahlil was held to gather the relatives of the residents of Kampung Mong Gajah and surrounding villages, including those now residing in Batu Kurau, Perak.

“Many people came here, similar to 2020 when the water levels in the lake also receded, exposing old graves,” he said.

The event was also attended by Nurul Amin Hamid, the MP for Padang Terap, who said about 15 villages in the area were submerged for the Pedu Dam project in the 1960s.

The Muda agricultural development authority website shows that the current water level at Pedu dam at 33.2%, while at Muda Dam and Ahning Dam, the water levels are 7.8% and 78.5% respectively.