MH370 PAS Youth has questioned why self-styled ‘Bomoh King’ Ibrahim Mat Zain, who gained infamy for performing a ritual at KLIA to find MH370, is still free to conduct yet another MH370-related ritual.
Referring to a video of a ritual - said to “raise the bodies” from the sea - in Pulau Sembilan, Perak, Perak PAS Youth chief Raja Ahmad Iskandar Raja Yaakob urged action against such “unIslamic” acts.
“PAS Youth is disappointed that such superstitious and syirik (polytheistic) acts are still ongoing in Perak despite Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria speaking against the Raja Bomoh...
“What is the Perak Islamic Affairs Department’s role in preventing such acts from being practiced?” he asked in a statement.
He added that Ibrahim may be known to many leaders in Perak and no action against him gives the impression that he is immune to action.
Yesterday, portal Suara.TV published a 2 minute and 58 second video showing Ibrahim and a small team travelling to Pulau Sembilan, off Manjung, and performing the ritual.
In the video, Ibrahim’s assistant is shown looking through bamboo binoculars and ‘raking’ the sea waters using a walking stick at the island.
The azan (Muslim call for prayer) is also sounded, after the bedok is beaten in the video, which has garnered more than 70,000 views.
The men also act out like they are pulling something out of the sea.
Suara.TV quoted Ibrahim as saying that the props were only “symbolic” and the ritual was just a prayer to Allah that the remains of the 239 on board will float to the surface.
“I used the binoculars to search for the crash site, walking stick to call out to the bodies and pointed bamboos to pull the victims out.
“After that we sounded the call for prayer and prayed that our efforts are accepted by Allah,” he was quoted as saying.
Ibrahim has earlier performed a ritual using bamboo binoculars and coconuts at KLIA, resulting in the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) issuing a warning of arrest.
Jais has also stationed enforcement officers at the airport after that to ensure that Ibrahim or other shamans did not perform any more rituals there.
Jamil Khir: Not our doing
In Parliament today, Minister in Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom denied that the government had hired or direct any party to hire Ibrahim, reported Bernama .
"The airport is a public space (anyone can go there).
"We don't know who hired him and it's not our business to ask him (Ibrahim)," he said while winding up the debate on the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Jamil Khir said the government also condemned the efforts of "certain quarters" who recruited the bomoh as it violated Islamic teachings.
He said the Department of Islamic Religious Development and state religious authorities would monitor KLIA to prevent such incidents.
"Legal action can be taken against any party involved in activities which contravene Islamic teachings," he added.
Jamil Khir also said an investigation paper had been opened by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council to investigate claims that the bomoh was connected to several leaders who purportedly asked him to conduct the ceremony at the airport.
