Malaysian Ghosts

[Devious Viper]

Ghostly Affair At Shah Alam Museum
By Mohd Fadzli Fadhilah

SHAH ALAM, July 10 (Bernama) -- "The fishy stench was so unbearable!" That was how acting director of the Selangor Museum Board, Mohd Lotfi Nazar, described his experience opening a box containing a preserved "mermaid."

That was not all. Besides the "mermaid", he also received a collection of ghosts and "genies" for the exhibition entitled "Mysteries, Genies, Ghosts, Coffins" now being held at Muzium Sultan Alam Shah, here.

The three-month exhibition is scheduled to end on Oct 4.

According to Mohd Lotfi, when a thermometer is placed near the preserved mermaid, its body temperature changes.

"These things have energy. When I touched the mermaid with my hands, I could feel the energy generating from it. Seems like it's not one hundred per cent dead."

REAL GHOSTS

This exhibition is said to be different from previous exhibitions, especially in terms of the materials and mediums used.

"Almost 90 per cent of the exhibits are real and in their original form. Apart from the ghosts, we also have exhibits related to offerings and sacrifices. These artefacts are loaned from Muzium Nurul A'la in Kuang, Selangor," said Mohd Lotfi.

In total, there are 100 artefacts related to ghosts and genies exhibited at the museum with 13 ghost artefacts in their original form.

Among the ghosts displayed are "Jenglot", "Nyi Blorong", "Langsuir", "Toyol", "Anak Kerak" and "Pocong".

The exhibition hall has been turned into a scene from a horror movie, with a "stretch of lonely road" as its backdrop.

Imagine walking on this dimly-lit lonely road covered with a thin mist ...an old car stranded by the road side with gravestones on the front seats! The graveyard is filled with more gravestones and the smell of camphor fills the cold night air .... All these are enough to give visitors the creeps!

At one corner of the hall is a glass room partly closed with a black curtain. Through the glass, you can see a coffin, half-opened with a figure wrapped in a white shroud lying in it. Many visitors flock to the glass room to have a glimpse of the "Pocong".

EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION>

Mohd Lotfi said he came up with the idea of exhibiting the ghost collection when he was involved in a project in Kuala Selangor.

As he had a deep interest in the mystical world, several villagers who were also involved in the project convinced him to visit the Muzium Nurul A'la owned by Safuan Abu Bakar and which has rare items including a ghost collection.

"I went to his (Safuan's) house and I was amazed with what he had. I had never seen such a collection. Those artefacts are unique and rare. In my 20 years of working with the museum, that was the first time I saw such a spectacular collection.

"Then I came up with the idea of exhibiting them to give the public useful information and insight into the world of spirits and ghosts which have always mystified them.

The organisers expect about a million people to visit the exhibition.

"We want to create awareness on the devils' and genies' deception which can swerve our faith. We also want to expose the negative impact of black magic practises, the importance to stay true to our religion and to rid our fear of ghosts," Mohd Lotfi said.

OWNER'S STORY

However, Safuan declined to reveal how he got those items but said his collection proved the existence of some weird things that were seldom seen by man.

"The artefacts in my collection prove that man has certain capabilities to catch them (the spirits/ghosts). We are created much higher than them as we are the caliphs of Allah to look after this world," he said.

Safuan and his staff are prepared for any untoward incident with a special treatment room set up at the museum.

Commenting on the establishment of his Nurul A'la museum, Safuan said the first item he received was a keris, inherited from his descendants, in 1986. He said he was chosen to look after the keris through a dream.

Other items that came into his possession were a twin sea-coconut shells originating from Istana Cempaka Sari in Pulau Tiga, Perak and a walking stick called Saiful Rijal. From then on, he started collecting items of mystic and set up the museum.

NOT WRONG

Director of the Islamic Faith and Thought Department of Universiti Malaya, Associate Professor Dr Wan Zailan Kamaruddin Wan Ali stressed that genies "do exist but they live in a different world from the world that we, humans live".

"Man and genies are from two different worlds and our worlds do not clash with each other unless man seek help from genies or we allow them to interfere with our lives," he said.

According to Dr Wan Zailan, in principle, genie or spirit could not be seen by human eyes.

"They are invisible but they can change their form when they come into our world.

"There's nothing wrong to display the exhibits as long as they do not deviate Muslims from their faith. We should see them in a positive manner and realise prove how great God is," he said.

The exhibition is open to public daily from 9.30am to midnight. The entrance charges are RM5 for adults and RM2 for children and those in school uniforms.

[Maggot Man]

These stories are especially common where I live. I've heard of people get accused of summoning a toyol to seek vengeance on one who has wronged them, and on the island where I trained, we were often warned to never stray into the jungle alone for fear that some dark thing lurking there might lead us to our doom.

In S.East Asia, belief in the existence of these beings is often a powerful force. Marriages have been wrecked over them, as I have witnessed personally, and people have even been imprisioned over their involvement in these matters.