March 19 (Reuters) - OpenAI is planning to unify its ChatGPT app, coding platform Codex and browser into a desktop 'superapp' to simplify user experience, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
PETALING JAYA: Recent thefts of urns from memorial parks have heightened security concerns among columbarium operators, prompting a review of surveillance and access controls. Kuala Lumpur Kwong Tong Cemetery board chairman Yong Pock Yau said these thefts had raised questions on whether they were isolated cases or involved a more coordinated activity.
“But when you’re talking about 20 or 30, that suggests something more organised,” he said in an interview. Yong said the families were distressed as the disappearance of urns would mean that the ashes of their loved ones had been “disturbed”. The situation, he said, was particularly sensitive as the Qing Ming festival – when families visit memorial parks and columbariums to pay respects to their ancestors – approaches. He said KTC had tightened procedures over the years following past incidents involving family misunderstandings. “There is now round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, controlled access and registration for requests to open niches. “Access for visitors should not come at the expense of basic safeguards, particularly when visitor traffic increases during Qing Ming,” he said. Industry players say columbariums are designed to allow families easy access for visits and prayers but the recent thefts highlight the need to have a balance between public access and security. Malaysia Funeral Public Association deputy president Jamelia Looi Heng Ling said its members, who often assist families with urn interment, have observed how open-access columbariums can be vulnerable. “Some facilities allow visitors to enter freely without registration,” she said, adding that niche fronts in older columbariums may be easier to tamper with, compared with newer designs that feature multiple barriers or controlled access.“If it’s dozens at a time, it looks planned,” she said. She advised families and operators not to give in to extortion demands and to report such incidents to the authorities.“Some families may feel it is pantang ; they worry that it could affect feng shui. But we should do the right thing. I believe our ancestors would want the same for us too,” she said.In Johor, Perpetual Memorial Park in Kulai lodged a police report after 22 urns belonging to 20 families were reported missing on March 6. Kulai OCPD Asst Comm Tan Seng Lee said police received a report after a break-in was discovered and several containers storing ashes were found missing from a storage rack.In Negri Sembilan, police are investigating the disappearance of 30 urns from Xiao En Memorial Park in Nilai. Nilai OCPD Supt Johari Yahya said the management lodged a report on Feb 26 after receiving a WhatsApp call from a foreign number, claiming to have the missing urns and demanding payment for their return. He said investigators are examining the possibility of cross- border syndicate involvement, adding that the same suspects could be linked to the Kulai case. Separate reports also pointed to earlier incidents in Selangor, including a case in Semenyih about six months ago. Sin Chew Daily previously reported that a memorial park in Selangor allegedly paid a negotiated sum to recover stolen urns that were later retrieved from a remote area. Amid the concerns, Buddhist leader Rev Jue Cheng, chief abbot of Fo Guang Shan’s Malaysia-Singapore-Thailand-Indonesia region, urged those who took the urns to return them. “It’s an immoral act driven by selfishness. We all have ancestors and parents; don’t do this kind of heartless thing,” she said. Stealing ashes to threaten families violates basic respect for the deceased and the values of filial piety, she added.
Urns Memorial Parks Columbarium Security Qing Ming Extortion CCTV Police Cross-Border Syndicate
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