ALOR SETAR, July 3 —The Kedah government and the state’s chapter of the Malaysian Historical Society (PSMCK) will make a final verification on the discovery of three tombs, believed to belong to the sultans of Kedah, by the society this year.

Kedah Tourism, Religion and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Rawi Abd Hamid said the state government was still awaiting for a full report by the PSMCK on the discovered tombs.

"We (state government), along with PSMCK, the Museums Department  and history experts will sit down together to study the evidence and grounds that can reinforce the claims that all those tombs belong to the sultans of Kedah,” he said when contacted by Bernama recently.

On March 23, PSMCK claimed to have discovered a 330-year-old tomb believed to belong to the 16th Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Ataullah Muhammad Shah by a river in Kampung Bukit Pinang near here. Also found in the area were nine other tombs.

The discovery came about a month after the discovery of the tomb of the 14th Kedah Sultan, Sultan Muhyiddin Mansur Shah in Kampung Chegar, Mukim Jeram, Tunjang.

Subsequently, the society found four other tombs including those of the 19th Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II and his queen, Tunku Puteri Almarhum Tunku Ishak in Anak Bukit on May 8.

Mohd Rawi said all the discoveries showed that the PSMCK had been very active in conducting research and collecting data on the unsolved history of the state.

The state executive councillor also said after all the evidence had been gathered and the tombs were confirmed to belong to the Kedah sultans, he would instruct the Land and District Office as well as the relevant government agencies to conduct a ‘gotong royong’ (mass cleaning) in the area and to embark on preservation efforts.

"As such, history enthusiasts or visitors can check out the tombs which are also one of the country’s valuable treasures,” he added. — Bernama